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Integrated photonics for neutral atom and ion quantum science at Sandia National Laboratories.

Hayden McGuinness

Published Nov 3, 2023• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

text will be published prior to the meeting in the online (SPIE.org)version of the conference program.A link to it will appear below your paper title and author listing.Character Count: 0 | 5 As quantum systems become more complex factors such as device footprint, mechanical/thermal stability, and power consumption become increasingly important, and can even be driving determiners of system performance.I'll give an overview of some of our work on integrated photonics for neutral atom and trapped ion systems at Sandia National Laboratories.Key elements of these systems include integrated waveguides for light delivery, single-photon detectors for fluorescent detection, and microfabricated piezo-optomechanical modulators for fast and high extinction switching of delivered light.

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text will be published prior to the meeting in the online (SPIE.org)version of the conference program.A link to it will appear below your paper title and author listing.Character Count: 0 | 5 As quantum systems become more complex factors such as device footprint, mechanical/thermal stability, and power consumption become increasingly important, and can even be driving determiners of system performance.I'll give an overview of some of our work on integrated photonics for neutral atom and trapped ion systems at Sandia National Laboratories.Key elements of these systems include integrated waveguides for light delivery, single-photon detectors for fluorescent detection, and microfabricated piezo-optomechanical modulators for fast and high extinction switching of delivered light.
As trapped ion systems add more ions to allow for increasingly sophisticated quantum processing and sensing capabilities, the traditional optical-mechanical laboratory infrastructure that make such systems possible are in some cases the limiting factor in further growth of the systems. One promising solution is to integrate as many, if not all, optical components such as waveguides and gratings, single-photon detectors, and high extinction ratio optical switches/modulators either into ion traps themselves or into auxiliary devices that can be easily integrated with ion traps. Here we report on recent efforts at Sandia National Laboratories to include integrated photonics in our surface ion trap platforms.
Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer compact and scalable solutions for trapped-ion quantum technologies. This work demonstrates photonic platforms that promise the potential integration of photonic components for light delivery and control across ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Passive waveguides and beam-shaping structures provide precise and stable optical addressing of ions, while active elements such as modulators and switches enable dynamic, on-chip control for quantum operations. Materials like aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and aluminum nitride (AlN) are evaluated to illustrate how functionality can be tailored to spectral needs. These integrated photonic systems reduce reliance on bulky free-space optics, improve alignment stability, and support future development of compact quantum sensors, atomic clocks, and scalable quantum processors.
Trapped ions hold promise as the basis of highly accurate clocks and other quantum sensors. However, many real-world applications for quantum sensing require miniaturized, environmentally robust devices that can operate in the field. The significant experimental overhead imposed by free-space optics for control laser light delivery and collection has been an impediment to truly compact trapped-ion based clocks and sensors. The use of integrated technologies—including photonic waveguides, single-photon avalanche detectors (SPADs) and integrated electronics—provides a potential pathway towards overcoming these obstacles. I will discuss MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s recent efforts in this area, including demonstrations of integrated trapped-ion light delivery and collection and prospects for combining these technologies into a single chip-based trapped-ion reference.
Quantum computers are a rapidly growing and emerging technology. Trapped ions and neutral atoms are among the modalities being investigated for quantum computers and rely heavily on photonics. Photonics plays an important role in trapped ion and neutral atom quantum computers especially in measuring the atom’s or ion’s fluorescence or lack of fluorescence as the photons that are emitted carry valuable information on their state. This presentation will provide an overview on trapped ion and neutral atom quantum computers. We will also discuss detector and imaging technologies used for qubit state and mid-circuit measurement as well as considerations for the future of detection and imaging for trapped ion and neutral atom quantum computers.
Atomic ions controlled by laser light are among the leading candidates for large scale quantum computing. However operational systems today require vast scaling to reach levels capable of useful computational tasks. The integration of light delivery will be an essential component of this for the trapped-ion approach. I will describe results in which the use of photonics integrated into ion trap chips has allowed us to perform high fidelity two-qubit gates, which are an essential building block for quantum computers. These systems have now been extended to the operation of multiple trap zones, and the creation of novel optical fields for ion trap control while a new generation of chips allowing integration of all required wavelengths as well as optimised light delivery offers further enhancements in performance and scaling.