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Entanglement on a surface chip using scalable control technologies for trapped ion qubits

Daisy Smith (9231587)

Published Apr 23, 2025• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

A blueprint for a scalable quantum computer using microwave radiation and a lattice of microfabricated surface ion traps was first proposed by Lekitsch et al. [1] in 2017. These surface ion traps require an integrated current-carrying wire layer which produces a variable magnetic field gradient at the position of the ions. Such a surface trap was first presented by Siegele et al. [2] in 2022. This thesis outlines the first use-case of this trap, demonstrating single-qubit control and characterization using long-wavelength radiation, and discusses the use of an Arbitrary Waveform Generator as a more scalable method for this qubit control. The thesis then characterizes the current-carrying wires, using the hyperfine states of 171Yb+ to demonstrate a variable and controllable gradient. In a magnetic field gradient, the use of a dressed state can greatly increase the coherence time of qubits, as presented by [3], the dressed state is created on this surface trap for the first time. Finally maximal entanglement of spin and motion, as proposed by Mintert and Wunderlich in [4], is shown in a single ion using long-wavelength radiation and using the current-carrying wires to produce the gradient.

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•May 18, 2015•0 citations
A blueprint for a scalable quantum computer using microwave radiation and a lattice of microfabricated surface ion traps was first proposed by Lekitsch et al. [1] in 2017. These surface ion traps require an integrated current-carrying wire layer which produces a variable magnetic field gradient at the position of the ions. Such a surface trap was first presented by Siegele et al. [2] in 2022. This thesis outlines the first use-case of this trap, demonstrating single-qubit control and characterization using long-wavelength radiation, and discusses the use of an Arbitrary Waveform Generator as a more scalable method for this qubit control. The thesis then characterizes the current-carrying wires, using the hyperfine states of 171Yb+ to demonstrate a variable and controllable gradient. In a magnetic field gradient, the use of a dressed state can greatly increase the coherence time of qubits, as presented by [3], the dressed state is created on this surface trap for the first time. Finally maximal entanglement of spin and motion, as proposed by Mintert and Wunderlich in [4], is shown in a single ion using long-wavelength radiation and using the current-carrying wires to produce the gradient.
This thesis describes experimental work towards the development of a trapped-ion quantum computer based on microchip ion traps and long-wavelength radiation, using magnetic field gradients. The relationship between experimental parameters and two-qubit gate fidelity is investigated for microchips with two different static magnetic field gradient generation methods. For current-carrying wires and under-chip permanent magnets, optimum ion heights of 110 μm and 200 μm are found respectively. Construction of an experiment capable of demonstrating high-fidelity gates is reported, including innovations for the use of microchip ion traps with permanent magnets. The development of a vacuum system for versatile microchip experiments is described, including new methods for impedance-matched RF delivery, in-vacuum filtering and liquid nitrogen microchip cooling. Protection of both the microchip surface from atomic flux and of ions from the charged imaging viewport are both investigated in detail. A new preparation framework for microchip ion traps before their use in experiments is developed. In order to remove unwanted deposited layers on the microchips, a process of multiple chemical treatments is used. In addition, these characterisation efforts lead to refinement of the microfabrication process for future microchips. The application of large currents to microchips is of fundamental importance to scalable trapped-ion quantum computing using static magnetic field gradients. As part of the characterisation process, currents of ≈ 10A are successfully applied to microfabricated current-carrying wires, demonstrating the viability of these structures for generation of local magnetic fields and gradients in a quantum computing device. The operation of a microchip ion trap experiment with under-chip permanent magnets for a high magnetic field gradient (≈ 140Tm−1) is described. The successful trapping of ytterbium-174 and -171 ions is reported, as well as their use to measure and optimise the ion trap parameters. The thesis concludes with consideration of the expected future results from the ongoing operation of the experiment.
This thesis describes experimental work in which the spin and motional states of one and two trapped atomic ions are manipulated with long-wavelength radiation in the microwave and radio frequency (RF) regime. This allows single- and two-qubit quantum logic gates to be implemented with long-wavelength radiation, in contrast to laser frequency radiation used in the majority of work to date. The two-qubit gate scheme developed represents a significant advance towards a large scale quantum computing architecture in which laser light is not needed for coherent manipulation. An experimental setup is built in which a macroscopic linear Paul trap is fitted with permanent magnets to create a strong axial magnetic field gradient. This addition allows the spin and motional states of the ions to be coupled using long-wavelength radiation. The coherence time of qubits that are sensitive to the magnetic field gradient is increased by nearly three orders of magnitude with the use of dressed states and the lifetime and coherence time are measured to be T1 = 0.63(4) s and T2 = 0.65(5) s, respectively. Using the dressed-state qubit, sideband cooling of a single ion to the motional ground state is demonstrated, and the final mean phonon number after cooling is measured to be \bar{n} = 0.13(4). Finally, a two-qubit gate is demonstrated using the dressed-state qubits in conjunction with the magnetic field gradient, and a Bell state fidelity of F = 0.985(12) is determined. This is a significant increase in fidelity for a two-qubit gate based on long-wavelength radiation compared to previous work. The errors are analysed and it is shown that with the next generation of microfabricated traps being developed in the group, the gate fidelity using this scheme can be pushed far into the fault tolerant regime. This makes this scheme promising as an integral part of a large scale quantum computing architecture.
For quantum computers to become a reality, high-fidelity logic gates are required to be implemented on a scalable architecture. The IQT group follows an approach based on using a magnetic field gradient and microwave radiation to implement the required operations. To demonstrate their scalability to many quantum bit systems, these operations need to be implemented on micro-fabricated surface ion traps. In this thesis I describe the technologies I developed for surface ion traps with magnetic field gradients. This entailed the design, assembly and operation of two surface ion trap systems with permanent magnets for generating large magnetic field gradients of 140T=m, novel in-vacuum radio-frequency and microwave emitters for implementing high-speed quantum state manipulation and development of robust and reliable laser control systems required for stable long-term experimental operation.
Scalability is a challenging yet key aspect required for large scale quantum computing and simulation using ions trapped in radio-frequency (rf) Paul traps. In this thesis 171Yb+ ions are used to demonstrate a magnetic field insensitive qubit which has a measured coherence time of 1.5 s, making it an ideal candidate to use for storing quantum information. A magnetic field sensitive qubit is also characterised which can be used for the implementation of multi-qubit gates using a potentially very scalable scheme based on microwaves in conjunction with a static magnetic field gradient instead of using lasers. However, the measured coherence time is limited by magnetic field fluctuations and will prohibit high fidelity gate operations from being performed. To address this issue, the preparation of a dressed-state qubit using a microwave based stimulated rapid adiabatic passage (STIRAP) pulse sequence will be presented. This qubit is protected against the noisy environment making it less sensitive to magnetic field fluctuations. The lifetime of this qubit is measured to demonstrate its suitability for storing quantum information. A powerful method for manipulating the dressed-state qubit will be presented and is used to measure a coherence time of the qubit of 500 ms which is two orders of magnitude longer compared to the magnetic field sensitive qubit. It will also be shown that our method allows for the implementation of arbitrary rotations of the dressed-state qubit on the Bloch sphere using only a single rf field. This substantially simplifies the experimental setup for single and multi-qubit gates. Furthermore, this thesis will present a experimental setup capable of successfully operating microfabricated surface ion traps. This setup is then used to operate and characterise the first two-dimensional (2D) lattice of ion traps on a microchip. A unique feature of the microfabrication technique used for this device is the extremely large voltage that can be applied which allows long ion lifetimes along with large secular frequencies to be measured, demonstrating the robustness of this device. Rudimentary shuttling between neighbouring lattice sites will be shown which could be used as part of a efficient scheme to load a large lattice of ions. One of the many applications of a 2D lattice of ions lies in the field of quantum simulations where many-body systems such as quantum magnetism, high temperature superconductivity, the fractional quantum hall effect and synthetic gauge fields can be simulated. It will be shown how making only minor modifications to the microchip the ion-ion separation can be reduced sufficiently to offer an exciting platform for the successful implementation of 2D quantum simulations. A theoretical investigation on the optimal 2D ion trap lattice geometry will also be presented with the aim to maximise the ratio of ion-ion coupling strength to decoherence from motional heating of the ions and to laser induced off-resonant coupling.
This thesis describes the experimental work towards the development of a scalable quantum computer based on microfabricated ion trap using long-wavelength radiation and magnetic field gradient. There are three key elements in implementing such a quantum computer: the junction trap to shuttle ions, the structure to generate high gradient magnetic field and the structure to induce strong microwave coupling to the ions. A new dynamic simulation tool was developed addressing the problems faced by static solvers. This tool was used to aid the design and optimisation of an X junction geometry allowing the ions to be shuttled with minimised motional heating gain. The design and fabrication techniques were reported on the structure to generate a high gradient magnetic field. A discussion was given on the design of producing microwave and maximise the coupling to the cold ions. A review was given on the far-field methods and near-field methods. A novel design was reported where the single-qubit gate is predicted to be 45 times faster than a conventional setup. Two essential topics on the microfabrication of a reliable scalable quantum computer unit were discussed: breakdown and RF loss. Investigation using numerical simulations showed that dielectric can breakdown due to high voltage and local heating which are results of impedance mismatch. Microfabrication processes were improved, high-quality films were reported to have twice as much breakdown voltages. The mechanisms of RF loss were reviewed. Novel structures and smooth electroplating technique were developed to minimise the loss. A low loss ion trap was produced and tested. An experimentally observed anomalous glow discharge phenomenon was reported and investigated.
Microfabricated ion traps are an important tool in the development of scalable quantum systems. Tremendous advancements towards an ion quantum computer were made in the past decade and most requirements for a quantum computer have been fulfilled in individual experiments. Incorporating all essential capabilities in a fully scalable system will require the further advancement of established quantum information technologies and development of new trap fabrication techniques. In my thesis I will discuss the theoretical background and experimental setup required for the operation of ion traps. Measurement of the important ion trap heating rate was performed in the setup and I will discuss the results in more detail. I will give a review of microfabrication processes used for the fabrication of traps, outlining advantages, disadvantages and issues inherent to the processes. Following the review I will present my work on a concept for a scalable ion trap quantum system based on microwave quantum gates and shuttling through X-junctions. Many of the required building blocks, including ion trap structures with current-carrying wires intended to create strong magnetic field gradients for microwave gates were investigated further. A novel fabrication process was developed to combine current-carrying wires with advanced multilayered ion trap structures. Several trap designs intended for proof of principle experiments of high fidelity microwave gates, advanced detection techniques and shuttling between electrically disconnected ion traps will be presented. Also the electrode geometry of an optimized X-junction design with strongly suppressed rf barrier height will be presented. Further, I developed several modifications for the experimental setup to extend the existing capabilities. A plasma source capable of performing in-situ cleans of the trap electrode surfaces, which has been demonstrated to dramatically reduce the heating rate in ion traps, was incorporated. I will also present a vacuum system modification designed to cool ion traps with current-carrying wires and transport the generated heat out of the vacuum system. In addition a novel low-noise, high-speed, multichannel voltage control system was developed by me. The device can be used in future experiments to precisely shuttle ions from one trapping zone to another and also to shuttle ions through ion trap junctions. Lastly I will outline the process optimization and microfabrication of my ion trap designs. A novel fabrication process which makes use of the extremely high thermal conductivity of diamond substrates and combines it with thick copper tracks embedded in the substrate was developed. Large currents will be passed through the wires creating a strong and controllable magnetic field gradient. Ion trap designs with isolated electrodes connected via buried wires can be placed on top of the current-carrying wires, allowing the most advanced electrode designs to be fabricated with current-carrying wires.