Based on single Cesium atoms trapped in a 1064 nm microscopic optical trap we have exhibited a single qubit encoded in the Cesium “clock states”. The single qubit initialization, detection and the fast state rotation with high efficiencies are demonstrated and this state manipulation is crucial for quantum information processing. The ground states Rabi flopping rate of 229.0 ± 0.6 kHz is realized by a two-photon Raman process. A clock states dephasing time of 3.0±0.7 ms is measured, while an irreversible homogeneous dephasing time of 124±17 ms is achieved by using the spin-echo technique. This well-controlled single atom provides an idea quantum qubit and quantum node for quantum information processing.
A single neutral atom is one of the most promising candidates to encode a quantum bit (qubit). In a real experiment, a single neutral atom is always confined in a micro-sized far off-resonant optical trap (FORT). There are generally two types of traps: red-detuned trap and blue-detuned trap. We experimentally compare the qubits encoded in “clock states” of single cesium atoms confined separately in either 1064-nm red-detuned (bright) trap or 780-nm blue-detuned (dark) trap: both traps have almost the same trap depth. A longer lifetime of 117 s and a longer coherence time of about 10 ms are achieved in the dark trap. This provides a direct proof of the superiority of the dark trap over the bright trap. The measures to further improve the coherence are discussed.