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Quantum Information and Computation

Demonstration of a scalable, multiplexed ion trap for quantum information processing

David R. Leibrandt, Jaroslaw Labaziewicz, Robert Clark, Isaac L. Chuang, R. J. Epstein, C. Ospelkaus, Janus H. Wesenberg, John Bollinger, Dietrich G. Leibfried, D. J. Wineland, D. Stick, J. Stick, Christopher R. Monroe, C. S. Pai, Y.L. Low, Robert E. Frahm, Richard E. Slusher

Published Nov 1, 2009• 36 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A scalable, multiplexed ion trap for quantum information processing is fabricated and tested. The trap design and fabrication process are optimized for scalability to small trap size and large numbers of interconnected traps, and for integration of control electronics and optics. Multiple traps with similar designs are tested with $^{111}$Cd$^+$, $^{25}$Mg$^+$, and $^{88}$Sr$^{+}$ ions at room temperature and with $^{88}$Sr$^+$ at 6 K, with respective ion lifetimes of 90 s, 300 $\pm$ 30 s, 56 $\pm$ 6 s, and 4.5 $\pm$ 1.1 hours. The motional heating rate for $^{25}$Mg$^{+}$ at room temperature and a trap frequency of 1.6 MHz is measured to be 7 $\pm$ 3 quanta per millisecond. For $^{88}$Sr$^{+}$ at 6 K and 540 kHz the heating rate is measured to be 220 $\pm$ 30 quanta per second.

DOI
10.26421/qic9.11-12-1

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Summary form only given. We discuss experiments with trapped /sup 9/Be/sup +/ ions in a micro-machined linear Paul trap that has two trapping regions separated by 1.2 mm. This trap geometry permits experiments that are the first steps toward a multiplexed, scalable quantum computer. We demonstrate coherent manipulations on a single ion that is transported between trapping regions, separation of two ions, and a quantum logic gate on a single ion that is made possible by the significantly reduced heating rate in this trap. We demonstrate adiabatic transport of a single ion between the trapping regions using time varying electrode potentials. A single ion is transported adiabatically over 1.2 mm between the trapping regions in 500 /spl mu/s with a measured increase of 0.1 /spl plusmn/ 0.1 motional quanta. A single ion has been transported between traps non-adiabatically in times as short as 50 /spl mu/s. Through manipulation of the electrode potentials we also show controlled separation of two ions initially held in one region to two regions that are separated by 1.2 mm.

Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•Jan 1, 2002•1 citation
A scalable, multiplexed ion trap for quantum information processing is fabricated and tested. The trap design and fabrication process are optimized for scalability to small trap size and large numbers of interconnected traps, and for integration of control electronics and optics. Multiple traps with similar designs are tested with 111^{111}111Cd+^++, 25^{25}25Mg+^++, and 88^{88}88Sr+^{+}+ ions at room temperature and with 88^{88}88Sr+^++ at 6 K, with respective ion lifetimes of 90 s, 300 ±\pm± 30 s, 56 ±\pm± 6 s, and 4.5 ±\pm± 1.1 hours. The motional heating rate for 25^{25}25Mg+^{+}+ at room temperature and a trap frequency of 1.6 MHz is measured to be 7 ±\pm± 3 quanta per millisecond. For 88^{88}88Sr+^{+}+ at 6 K and 540 kHz the heating rate is measured to be 220 ±\pm± 30 quanta per second.
A scalable, multiplexed ion trap for quantum information processing is fabricated and tested. The trap design and fabrication process are optimized for scalability to small trap size and large numbers of interconnected traps, and for integration of control electronics and optics. Multiple traps with similar designs are tested with Cd+, Mg+, and Sr+ ions at room temperature and with Sr+ at 6 K, with respective ion lifetimes of 90 s, 300 +/- 30 s, 56 +/- 6 s, and 4.5 +/- 1.1 hours. The motional heating rate for Mg+ at room temperature and a trap frequency of 1.6 MHz is measured to be 7 +/- 3 quanta per millisecond. For Sr+ at 6 K and 540 kHz the heating rate is measured to be 220 +/- 30 quanta per second.
A fault-tolerant quantum computer is expected to require thousands of qubits. Trapped ion architectures provide a modular approach where the quantum register is divided into multiple subregisters connected by physically moving the corresponding ions. Transporting ions at scale comes with several challenges such as the need to connect thousands of control lines to an ion trap chip. Multiplexing the required control voltages from few input signals to multiple electrodes offers a solution to this wiring challenge. Here we demonstrate a quantum processing unit that combines a surface ion trap with a time multiplexer via a sample-and-hold technique that initially charges electrodes to fixed voltages and disconnects them during qubit operations. We characterize the unit's performance by measuring motional heating rates below one phonon per second in both open and closed switch configurations. We further characterize the sample and hold process and find that sampling intervals below 50 ms are sufficient to keep expected gate errors from decaying charges during the hold phase below 10−410^{-4}10−4. Our results indicate that the multiplexing scheme is compatible with high-fidelity operations.
Individual laser-cooled 24Mg+ ions are confined in a linear Paul trap with a novel geometry where gold electrodes are located in a single plane and the ions are trapped 40 microm above this plane. The relatively simple trap design and fabrication procedure are important for large-scale quantum information processing (QIP) using ions. Measured ion motional frequencies are compared to simulations. Measurements of ion recooling after cooling is temporarily suspended yield a heating rate of approximately 5 motional quanta per millisecond for a trap frequency of 2.83 MHz, sufficiently low to be useful for QIP.
With all the key elements of quantum computing in ion traps demonstrated by the research community, the focus is now placed on building more sophisticated traps with larger numbers of ions to allow practical scale information processing. One promising avenue is to store ions in and shuttle them between many independent traps which serve as potential interaction sites. The core of the work described in this thesis is the experimental evaluation of a microfabricated segmented ion trap, built by Sandia National Laboratories ("Sandia trap"). These experiments required construction of a wholly new optical setup including laser and detection systems, a vacuum system and control electronics. Among our experimental achievements were: successful loading of single and pairs of ions in the microscale trap, measurement of ion storage lifetime, measurement of the motional heating rate with a time-resolved Doppler-cooling method — which showed above than average heating, and implemented a single-ion shuttling method — which reliably transferred the ion through a distance of 360 μm (two DC electrode widths away) and back. These results have been used to improve the next version of the Sandia trap design. We also used computer modelling to study several aspects of ion traps: a mesoscopic ion trap designed for fast ion separation, simulated ion loading to quantify requirements for successful trapping in small and shallow traps, and analyzed a precise shuttling method — where the time dependence of the trapping potential is engineered such that there is minimal motional heating. The results show that ion trap arrays at the 100 μm distance scale are feasible and suggests that such multiple trap designs merit further study.
The electromagnetic manipulation of isolated ions has led to many advances in atomic physics, from laser cooling to precision metrology and quantum control. As technical capability in this area has grown, so has interest in building miniature electromagnetic traps for the development of large-scale quantum information processors. This thesis will primarily focus on using microfabrication techniques to build arrays of miniature ion traps, similar to techniques used in fabricating high component density microprocessors. A specific focus will be on research using a gallium arsenide/aluminum gallium arsenide heterostructure as a trap architecture, as well as the recent testing of different ion traps fabricated at outside foundries. The construction and characterization of a conventional ceramic trap capable of shuttling an ion through a junction will also be detailed, and reveal the need for moving towards lithographically fabricated traps. Combined, these serve as a set of proof-of-principle experiments pointing to methods for designing and building large scale arrays of ion traps capable of constituting a quantum information processor. As traps become smaller, electrical potentials on the electrodes have greater influence on the ion. This not only pertains to intentionally applied voltages, but also to deleterious noise sources, such as thermal Johnson noise and the more significant ``patch potential" noise, which both cause motional heating of the ion. These problematic noise sources dovetail with my thesis research into trap miniaturization since their effects become more pronounced and impossible to ignore for small trap sizes. Therefore characterizing them and investigating ways to suppress them have become an important component of my research. I will describe an experiment using a pair of movable needle electrodes to measure the ion heating rate corresponding to the harmonic frequency of the trap, the ion-electrode distance, and the electrode temperature. This information is used for characterizing the fluctuating potentials and exploring the possibility of suppressing motional heating by cooling the trap electrodes. This source of noise is also observed in other systems, and its characterization could potentially improve other precision experiments, such as those measuring deviations in the gravitational inverse square law with proximate masses.
Summary form only given. We discuss experiments with trapped /sup 9/Be/sup +/ ions in a micro-machined linear Paul trap that has two trapping regions separated by 1.2 mm. This trap geometry permits experiments that are the first steps toward a multiplexed, scalable quantum computer. We demonstrate coherent manipulations on a single ion that is transported between trapping regions, separation of two ions, and a quantum logic gate on a single ion that is made possible by the significantly reduced heating rate in this trap. We demonstrate adiabatic transport of a single ion between the trapping regions using time varying electrode potentials. A single ion is transported adiabatically over 1.2 mm between the trapping regions in 500 /spl mu/s with a measured increase of 0.1 /spl plusmn/ 0.1 motional quanta. A single ion has been transported between traps non-adiabatically in times as short as 50 /spl mu/s. Through manipulation of the electrode potentials we also show controlled separation of two ions initially held in one region to two regions that are separated by 1.2 mm.