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Journal of Physics Conference Series

The Simulation of Direct Phase Addition for 3D optical tweezers

Piyawat Chatchaichompu, S Sungthong, Nithiwadee Thaicharoen, N Chattrapiban

Published Jan 1, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract One of the essential requirements for atom-based technology is controlling the position and characterizing interactions between atoms and their environment. Optical tweezers are crucial for positioning atoms precisely. Typically, quantum technology research utilizes two-dimensional optical tweezers planar arrays, which are limited in manipulating atoms at different depths of field. To address this issue, three-dimensional optical tweezers can be simulated using a modulated phase mask of a Gaussian laser beam. The phase mask is computed using the direct phase addition (DPA) method with a weight factor, and the angular spectrum method (ASM) is employed to propagate a 2D intensity pattern transversely through the beam, layer by layer. Our results showed that the position of each trap can be adjusted to desire positions in 3D with a global weight factor. Furthermore, our analysis demonstrates that increasing resolution improves measurement precision. Utilizing 3D atom arrays enhances quantum simulation capabilities, providing better insights into complex phenomena. The results of this investigation will be applied to a spatial light modulator in a real setup for an ultra-cold atom trapping experiment.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/2934/1/012017

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Abstract One of the essential requirements for atom-based technology is controlling the position and characterizing interactions between atoms and their environment. Optical tweezers are crucial for positioning atoms precisely. Typically, quantum technology research utilizes two-dimensional optical tweezers planar arrays, which are limited in manipulating atoms at different depths of field. To address this issue, three-dimensional optical tweezers can be simulated using a modulated phase mask of a Gaussian laser beam. The phase mask is computed using the direct phase addition (DPA) method with a weight factor, and the angular spectrum method (ASM) is employed to propagate a 2D intensity pattern transversely through the beam, layer by layer. Our results showed that the position of each trap can be adjusted to desire positions in 3D with a global weight factor. Furthermore, our analysis demonstrates that increasing resolution improves measurement precision. Utilizing 3D atom arrays enhances quantum simulation capabilities, providing better insights into complex phenomena. The results of this investigation will be applied to a spatial light modulator in a real setup for an ultra-cold atom trapping experiment.
Neutral atoms trapped by laser light are among the most promising candidates for storing and processing information in a quantum computer or simulator. The application certainly calls for a scalable and flexible scheme for addressing and manipulating the atoms. We have now made this a reality by implementing a fast and versatile method to dynamically control the position of neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezers. The tweezers result from a spatial light modulator (SLM) controlling and shaping a large number of optical dipole-force traps. Trapped atoms adapt to any change in the potential landscape, such that one can rearrange and randomly access individual sites within atom-trap arrays.
Abstract Atom arrays generated by optical dipole traps are essential in quantum experiments, enabling precise manipulation and simulation of quantum states. They offer a competitive platform for quantum simulations due to their flexible configurations and local state addressability. However, preparing dipole-trap arrays within a vacuum chamber is challenged by the requirement for the laser beam to pass through multiple optical components which can induce deviations in the laser beam profile and cause aberrations in the system. To address this issue, we apply a holographic phase pattern to correct the aberration of an array of optical dipole traps according to these optical elements. We start with embedding the phase patterns into an SLM to generate the array of optical dipole traps. We then examine the aberrations induced by each optical element and develop methods for their correction. This is implemented by feeding back the modified phase pattern to restore the intended array pattern and eliminate aberrations using the modified Gerchberg–Saxton algorithm. This research enables the precise preparation of optical dipole trap arrays, which are crucial for future work in developing cold single-atom arrays prepared in a vacuum system.
Engineering and controlling systems of neutral atoms reveals significant insights into applications such as quantum metrology, simulation, and computation. Programmable arrays of laser beams are necessary for trapping the atoms, rearranging them, and implementing quantum gates. Because the initial loading of atoms into optical tweezer arrays is a stochastic process, rapid reconfiguration of the beam pattern is essential for assembling defect-free arrays within the lifetime of the atoms. A recent new device, the Texas Instruments Phase Light Modulator (PLM), uses digital micromirrors to modulate optical path lengths, enabling a higher refresh rate than spatial light modulators based on liquid crystals. This work presents a characterization of the TI PLM for neutral atom tweezer applications. We construct a retroreflective 2F optical test setup, calibrate the device at 635 nm, and characterize diffraction efficiency, pattern quality, and pattern switching. We evaluate the PLM's prospects for 2D atom array rearrangement and tweezer merging, identifying advantages compared with existing approaches. These results inform potential integration of the PLM into neutral atom platforms.
Optical tweezer arrays of neutral atoms have emerged as a versatile and powerful platform for quantum simulation and quantum information processing. In this thesis, I present the realization of an experimental platform for quantum simulation based on individually trapped strontium atoms in optical tweezer arrays. The experiment combines precise laser cooling, optical control, and high-resolution imaging to enable the manipulation and high fidelity detection of single atoms. I developed and optimized a two-stage three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D-MOT) that produces cold and dense samples of strontium atoms from a thermal beam. In the f irst stage, atoms are captured and precooled using the dipole-allowed 1S0 → 1P1 transition at 461nm (which has a linewidth of !=2ω ↑ 32MHz). The second stage employs the 1S0 → 3P1 narrow intercombination transition at 689nm (with a linewidth of !=2ω ↑7.5kHz) to further cool and compress the atomic cloud. By optimizing the trapping parameters, I achieved clouds with temperatures around 5μK and densities above 1010cm→3, providing ideal initial conditions for e!cient loading into optical tweezers. A 3↑3 array of 360μK deep optical tweezers is generated by spatially modulating an 813.4nm laser beam using two crossed acousto-optic deflectors. The deflected beams are relayed and focused into the science chamber using a high–numericalaperture objective, which simultaneously serves as the collection optics for atomic f luorescence. The fluorescence light emitted by the atoms is imaged onto a scientific qCMOS camera, enabling site-resolved detection of individual atoms. I implemented and optimized the in-trap cooling dynamics to prevent atom loss during imaging and to minimize residual thermal motion. In addition, by precisely tuning lightassisted collisions, multiple atoms occupancies are removed from the traps and a single-atom regime is reached in the array, with a filling fraction of about 50%. I have demonstrated a single-atom detection fidelity of 99,986(1)% and a survival probability of 97(2)% between subsequent image acquisition, comparable to other current state-of-the-art experiments. To characterize the platform, I carried out release-and-recapture experiments, from which it is possible to measure a temperature for the individually trapped atoms of 12.95(5)μK. These results demonstrate the successful implementation of a robust and high-fidelity platform for optical trapping and imaging of single strontium atoms. The apparatus provides the foundation for future quantum simulation experiments with alkalineearth atoms excited to the Rydberg state, o"ering precise control over individual particles and the ability to scale towards larger, programmable atomic arrays.
Trapped neutral atoms are one of the leading platforms for quantum information technologies, in particular for quantum computing, but scaling them to array sizes needed for utility-scale quantum computing is a major engineering challenge. Here we review optical metasurfaces as an enabling technology that provides fine control over the phase, amplitude, and polarization of light, with pixel counts far exceeding what is available with spatial light modulators (SLMs) and other active devices. The large pixel counts have recently led to demonstrations of arrays of optical tweezers with hundreds of thousands of sites and arrays of optical bottle-beams with complex three-dimensional trapping profiles. The flexibility and scalability of optical metasurfaces provides a route towards miniaturized, integrated, and highly scalable atomic experiments and instruments.
Neutral atoms trapped in microscopic optical tweezers have emerged as a growing platform for quantum science. Achieving homogeneity over the tweezers array is an important technical requirement, and our research focuses on improving it for holographic arrays generated with a spatial light modulator. We present a series of optimization methods to calculate better holograms, fueled by precise measurement schemes. These innovations enable to achieve intensity homogeneity with a relative standard deviation of 0.3%, shape variations below 0.5%, and positioning errors within 70 nm. Such ultraprecise holographic optical tweezers arrays allow for the most demanding applications in quantum science with atomic arrays.