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A multi-channel voltage driving circuit with adjustable and independent RF amplitude

Qikun Wang, Zhao Wang, Tianyang Hu, Jun Mai, Wei Ma, Xu Wang

Published May 12, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract A helical resonator with a certain resonant frequency and a high-quality factor (Q-factor)[1] is critical for an ion trap system, which results in a larger trap depth, longer trap time, and lower RF noise. Here we propose a new method for energizing amplitude-adjustable multiple RF ion trap electrodes. By dividing the output of the helical resonator into multiple circuits and simultaneously energizing the ion trap multi-RF electrodes, each circuit is composed of capacitors connected in series, and the desired amplitude is applied to the ion trap RF electrodes using capacitive voltage dividing. In contrast, the capacitance of the multi-RF capacitors connected in series is determined by three constraints. Different voltages for each circuit are realized while keeping the phase consistent. To demonstrate our proposed method in experiments, we first determine that the theory is feasible through circuit simulations and then confirm the method’s validity by comparing the measured results with the analog simulations. Our method can be applied to the ion trap structure of multiplexed RF electrodes, which contributes to the realization of ion traps for multiplexed RF electrodes.

DOI
10.1007/s11128-025-04742-5

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Abstract A helical resonator with a certain resonant frequency and a high-quality factor (Q-factor)[1] is critical for an ion trap system, which results in a larger trap depth, longer trap time, and lower RF noise. Here we propose a new method for energizing amplitude-adjustable multiple RF ion trap electrodes. By dividing the output of the helical resonator into multiple circuits and simultaneously energizing the ion trap multi-RF electrodes, each circuit is composed of capacitors connected in series, and the desired amplitude is applied to the ion trap RF electrodes using capacitive voltage dividing. In contrast, the capacitance of the multi-RF capacitors connected in series is determined by three constraints. Different voltages for each circuit are realized while keeping the phase consistent. To demonstrate our proposed method in experiments, we first determine that the theory is feasible through circuit simulations and then confirm the method’s validity by comparing the measured results with the analog simulations. Our method can be applied to the ion trap structure of multiplexed RF electrodes, which contributes to the realization of ion traps for multiplexed RF electrodes.
A new method is proposed to measure unknown amplitudes of radio frequency (RF) voltages applied to ion traps, using a pre-calibrated voltage divider with RF shielding. In contrast to previous approaches that estimate the applied voltage by comparing the measured secular frequencies with a numerical simulation, we propose using a pre-calibrated voltage divider to determine the absolute amplitude of large RF voltages amplified by a helical resonator. The proposed method does not require measurement of secular frequencies and completely removes uncertainty caused by limitations of numerical simulations. To experimentally demonstrate our method, we first obtained a functional relation between measured secular frequencies and large amplitudes of RF voltages using the calibrated voltage divider. A comparison of measured relations and simulation results without any fitting parameters confirmed the validity of the proposed method. Our method can be applied to most ion trap experiments. In particular, it will be an essential tool for surface ion traps which are extremely vulnerable to unknown large RF voltages and for improving the accuracy of numerical simulations for ion trap experiments.
Paul traps are widely used to confine electrically charged particles like atomic and molecular ions by using an intense radiofrequency (RF) field, typically obtained by a voltage drop on capacitative electrodes placed in vacuum. We present a RF drive realized on a compact printed circuit board and providing a high-voltage RF signal to a quadrupole Paul trap. The circuit is formed by using four interdependent resonant circuits - each of which is connected to an electrode of a Paul trap - fed by low-noise amplifiers, leading to an output voltage of peak-to-peak amplitude up to 200 V at 3.23 MHz. The presence of a single resonant circuit for each electrode ensures a strong control on the voltage drop on each electrode, e.g., by applying a DC field through a bias tee. Additionally, the moderate quality factor Q = 67 of the resonant circuits ensures a fast operation of the drive, which can be turned on and off in less than 10 μs. Finally, the RF lines are equipped with pickups that sample the RF in phase and amplitude, thus providing a signal that can be used to actively control the voltage drop at the trap's electrodes.
With the increasing number of ion qubits and improving performance of sophisticated quantum algorithms, more and more scalable complex ion trap electrodes have been developed and integrated. Nonlinear ion shuttling operations at the junction are more frequently used, such as in the areas of separation, merging, and exchanging. Several studies have been conducted to optimize the geometries of the radio-frequency (RF) electrodes to generate ideal trapping electric fields with a lower junction barrier and an even ion height of the RF saddle points. However, this iteration is time-consuming and commonly accompanied by complicated and sharp electrode geometry. Therefore, high-accuracy fabrication process and high electric breakdown voltage are essential. In the current work, an effective method was proposed to reduce the junction's pseudo-potential barrier and ion height variation by setting several individual RF electrodes and adjusting each RF voltage amplitude without changing the geometry of the electrode structure. The simulation results show that this method shows the same effect on engineering the trapping potential and reducing the potential barrier, but requires fewer parameters and optimization time. By combining this method with the geometrical shape-optimizing, the pseudo-potential barrier and the ion height variation near the junction can be further reduced. In addition, the geometry of the electrodes can be simplified to relax the fabrication precision and keep the ability to engineer the trapping electric field in real-time even after the fabrication of the electrodes, which provides a potential all-electric degree of freedom for the design and control of the two-dimensional ion crystals and investigation of their phase transition.
The resonant frequency of a helical resonator, that efficiently delivers high voltage rf to an electrodynamic ion-trap, depends on capacitive and inductive loads. Estimation of these loads for the parts that are attached to the resonator are thus necessary for designing a resonator operating at a desired frequency. On the other hand, the trapped ion experiences a voltage induced by the capacitance resulting from the electrodes. This results to excess micromotion to the ion. Here, we estimate the capacitive and resistive loads arising from different parts of ourtrap.
A linear radio-frequency Paul trap is traditionally driven with one diagonal pair of electrodes grounded and the other connected to a high-voltage radio-frequency source. This method simplifies impedance matching of the voltage source to the trap. However, for several architectures it leads to increasing the axial micromotion amplitude, for example, when the capacitance between radio-frequency and end-cap electrodes is not negligible. Here, we present a technique to generate two high-voltage radio-frequency signals \SI{180}{\degree} out of phase to drive a linear Paul trap with opposite voltages between neighbouring electrodes. Using this, we have successfully trapped and cooled a chain of Ytterbium ions in a linear radio-frequency Paul trap.
Large surface-electrode ion traps with multiple trapping regions and junctions are a natural approach to scaling trapped ion quantum computers, supporting the connectivity and ion counts necessary for complex quantum algorithms. However, a major hurdle in this scaling is on-chip power dissipation from the applied RF voltage, which increases at a rate between linear and cubic relative to trap size, depending on whether the losses are dielectric or Ohmic. Here, we present two versions of a trap with features designed to reduce both types of RF power dissipation. The first variant contains a raised RF electrode that increases the electrode–ground distance to reduce capacitance. Different DC voltage sources are demonstrated on this trap to show that technical noise before the filter remains the dominant source of voltage noise and therefore motional heating. The second variant additionally includes a method for removing dielectric from beneath the RF electrode to further reduce dielectric losses. These traps were demonstrated at room temperature with 40Ca+ ions. The similar heating rates and heating rate axial frequency dependencies between 2.4 and 3.0 MHz illustrate that this dielectric modification is not detrimental to trap performance.