Trapping Ions in a 2-pi Parabolic Mirror

Chen-Kuan Chou, Thomas Noël, Carolyn Auchter +1 more

Ch. Schneider, Martin Enderlein, Thomas M. Huber +1 more

Lucas Alber, Martin Fischer, Marianne Bader +3 more

Focusing with a 4 π parabolic mirror allows for concentrating light from nearly the complete solid angle, whereas focusing with a single microscope objective limits the angle cone used for focusing to half solid angle at maximum. Increasing the solid angle by using deep parabolic mirrors comes at the cost of adding more complexity to the mirror’s fabrication process and might introduce errors that reduce the focusing quality. To determine these errors, we experimentally examine the focusing properties of a 4 π parabolic mirror that was produced by single-point diamond turning. The properties are characterized with a single 174 Yb + ion as a mobile point scatterer. The ion is trapped in a vacuum environment with a movable high optical access Paul trap. We demonstrate an effective focal spot size of 209 nm in lateral and 551 nm in axial direction. Such tight focusing allows us to build an efficient light-matter interface. Our findings agree with numerical simulations incorporating a finite ion temperature and interferometrically measured wavefront aberrations induced by the parabolic mirror. We point at further technological improvements and discuss the general scope of applications of a 4 π parabolic mirror.

Chen-Kuan Chou, Carolyn Auchter, Jennifer Lilieholm +2 more

Efficient fluorescence collection is the most challenging part in remote entangled ion qubit state generation. To address this issue, we developed an ion trap consisting of a reflective parabolic surface and a needle electrode. This parabolic trap design covers a solid angle of 2π steradians and allows precise ion placement at the focal point of the parabola. We measured (39 ± 3)% fluorescence collection from a single ion with this trap and analyzed the mirror optical performance. We observed single ion image spot size of 3.4 times diffraction limit, improved to 2.8 times diffraction limit with the help of an external deformable mirror. The micromotion of the ion is determined to be the limiting factor, and the result is consistent with theoretical calculation.

Leon Karpa

Clóvis Corrêa, A. Vidiella-Barranco