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Chinese Physics B

Aberration compensation of optical tweezers for single-atom array

Jiayi Hou, Yu 玉 Jia 贾, Wen-Jun 文君 Xiao 夏, Yu Liu, Zhi-Quan 志全 Shi 石, Ying-Jie 英杰 Bai 白, Kong-Rui 孔睿 Ma 马, Zhuo Fu

Published Dec 16, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract High-precision preparation of holographic optical tweezers, which is a critical requirement for neutral atom quantum computing platforms, faces the challenge of system aberrations that degrade trap performance. In this paper, we propose a simple and efficient aberration correction algorithm for wavefront-sensorless optical systems, based on correcting the relative lateral shift of diffracted light across spatial regions. Applied to a cold atomic system, this technique demonstrates active correction of aberrations up to several wavelengths, reducing them to a peak-to-valley difference of 0.19(3) λ . The diffraction spot quality and optical trap depth are significantly improved after aberration correction. Combined with subsequent array optimization, the technique enables the generation of uniform optical trap arrays with enhanced atom-loading efficiency. The method requires no prior wavefront information or additional hardware, utilizing only an SLM and a standard CCD camera. Its computational efficiency and hardware simplicity make it broadly applicable to fields such as laser lithography and microscopy.

DOI
10.1088/1674-1056/ae2d35

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Abstract High-precision preparation of holographic optical tweezers, which is a critical requirement for neutral atom quantum computing platforms, faces the challenge of system aberrations that degrade trap performance. In this paper, we propose a simple and efficient aberration correction algorithm for wavefront-sensorless optical systems, based on correcting the relative lateral shift of diffracted light across spatial regions. Applied to a cold atomic system, this technique demonstrates active correction of aberrations up to several wavelengths, reducing them to a peak-to-valley difference of 0.19(3) λ . The diffraction spot quality and optical trap depth are significantly improved after aberration correction. Combined with subsequent array optimization, the technique enables the generation of uniform optical trap arrays with enhanced atom-loading efficiency. The method requires no prior wavefront information or additional hardware, utilizing only an SLM and a standard CCD camera. Its computational efficiency and hardware simplicity make it broadly applicable to fields such as laser lithography and microscopy.
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.
We propose and implement an aberration correction method for the creation of extended arrays of spots well beyond the isoplanatic region of any optical system. The method relies on an extensive calibration of aberrations in terms of Zernike polynomials over the full accessible field of an optical system. We introduce a modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm for generating holographic phase masks creating fully corrected arbitrary arrays of spots. By applying the method to an aspherical lens, and using a liquid-crystal spatial light modulator (SLM), we increase the aberration-free field of view from 50 to 500 μμμm, only limited by the largest diffraction angles accessible to the SLM. This opens new perspectives for the generation of large arrays of optical tweezers, especially for neutral atom based quantum processors and simulators.
High degree of adjustability enables the holographic tweezer array a versatile platform for creating an arbitrary geometrical atomic array. In holographic tweezer array experiments, an optical tweezer generated by a spatial light modulator (SLM) usually is used as a static tweezer array. However, the alternating current (AC) stark effect generally induces the intensity difference of traps in terms of different light shifts. So, intensity equalization is an essential prerequisite for preparing a many-body system with individually controlled atoms. Here, we report an intensity equalization algorithm. In particular, we observe the non-uniformity of the tweezer array is below 1.1% when the array size is larger than 1000. Our analysis shows that by optimizing the hardware performance of the optical system, this uniformity could be further improved. Our work offers the opportunities for large-scale quantum computation and simulation with reconfigurable atom arrays.
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.
Scalability remains a major challenge in building practical fault-tolerant quantum computers. Currently, the largest number of qubits achieved across leading quantum platforms ranges from hundreds to thousands. In atom arrays, scalability is primarily constrained by the capacity to generate large numbers of optical tweezers, and conventional techniques using acousto-optic deflectors or spatial light modulators struggle to produce arrays much beyond ∼10,000\sim 10,000∼10,000 tweezers. Moreover, these methods require additional microscope objectives to focus the light into micrometer-sized spots, which further complicates system integration and scalability. Here, we demonstrate the experimental generation of an optical tweezer array containing 280×280280\times 280280×280 spots using a metasurface, nearly an order of magnitude more than most existing systems. The metasurface leverages a large number of subwavelength phase-control pixels to engineer the wavefront of the incident light, enabling both large-scale tweezer generation and direct focusing into micron-scale spots without the need for a microscope. This result shifts the scalability bottleneck for atom arrays from the tweezer generation hardware to the available laser power. Furthermore, the array shows excellent intensity uniformity exceeding 90%90\%90%, making it suitable for homogeneous single-atom loading and paving the way for trapping arrays of more than 10,00010,00010,000 atoms in the near future.
Single atoms are promising candidates for physically implementing quantum bits, the fundamental unit of quantum information. We have built an apparatus for cooling, trapping and imaging single rubidium atoms in microscopic optical tweezers. The traps are formed from a tightly focused off-resonant laser beam, which traps atoms using the optical dipole force. The traps have a diameter of ~1 μm and a depth of ~1 mK. The novelty of our approach is the use a digital mirror device (DMD) to generate multiple independently movable tweezers from a single laser beam. The DMD consists of an array of micro-mirrors that can be switched on and off, thus acting as a binary amplitude modulator. We use the DMD to imprint a computer-generated hologram on the laser beam, which is converted in to the desired arrangement of traps in the focal plane of a lens. We have developed fast algorithms for calculating binary holograms suitable for the DMD. In addition, we use this method to measure and correct for errors in the phase of the wavefront caused by optical aberrations, which is necessary for producing diffraction-limited focal spots. Using this apparatus, we have trapped arrays of up to 20 atoms with arbitrary geometrical arrangements. We exploit light-assisted collisions between atoms to ensure there is at most one atom per trapping site. We measure the temperature of the atoms in the traps to be 12 μK, and their lifetime to be 1.4 s. Finally, we demonstrate the ability to select individual atoms from an array and transport them over a distance of 14μm with laser cooling, and 5 μm without.