24 research outputs found
Interferometric thermometry of a single sub-Doppler cooled atom
Efficient self-interference of single-photons emitted by a sideband-cooled
Barium ion is demonstrated. First, the technical tools for performing efficient
coupling to the quadrupolar transition of a single Ba ion are
presented. We show efficient Rabi oscillations of the internal state of the ion
using a highly stabilized 1.76 fiber laser resonant with the
S-D transition. We then show sideband cooling of the ion's
motional modes and use it as a means to enhance the interference contrast of
the ion with its mirror-image to up to 90%. Last, we measure the dependence of
the self-interference contrast on the mean phonon number, thereby demonstrating
the potential of the set-up for single-atom thermometry close to the motional
ground state.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Electric-field noise above a thin dielectric layer on metal electrodes
The electric-field noise above a layered structure composed of a planar metal electrode covered by a thin dielectric is evaluated and it is found that the dielectric film considerably increases the noise level, in proportion to its thickness. Importantly, even a thin (mono) layer of a low-loss dielectric can enhance the noise level by several orders of magnitude compared to the noise above a bare metal. Close to this layered surface, the power spectral density of the electric field varies with the inverse fourth power of the distance to the surface, rather than with the inverse square, as it would above a bare metal surface. Furthermore, compared to a clean metal, where the noise spectrum does not vary with frequency (in the radio-wave and microwave bands), the dielectric layer can generate electric-field noise which scales in inverse proportion to the frequency. For various realistic scenarios, the noise levels predicted from this model are comparable to those observed in trapped-ion experiments. Thus, these findings are of particular importance for the understanding and mitigation of unwanted heating and decoherence in miniaturized ion traps.published_or_final_versio
Ion-trap measurements of electric-field noise near surfaces
Electric-field noise near surfaces is a common problem in diverse areas of physics and a limiting factor for many precision measurements. There are multiple mechanisms by which such noise is generated, many of which are poorly understood. Laser-cooled, trapped ions provide one of the most sensitive systems to probe electric-field noise at MHz frequencies and over a distance range 30−3000 μm from a surface. Over recent years numerous experiments have reported spectral densities of electric-field noise inferred from ion heating-rate measurements and several different theoretical explanations for the observed noise characteristics have been proposed. This paper provides an extensive summary and critical review of electric-field noise measurements in ion traps and compares these experimental findings with known and conjectured mechanisms for the origin of this noise. This reveals that the presence of multiple noise sources, as well as the different scalings added by geometrical considerations, complicates the interpretation of these results. It is thus the purpose of this review to assess which conclusions can be reasonably drawn from the existing data, and which important questions are still open. In so doing it provides a framework for future investigations of surface-noise processes.published_or_final_versio
Compact RF resonator for cryogenic ion traps
We report on the investigation and implementation of a lumped-component,
radio-frequency resonator used in a cryogenic vacuum environment to drive an
ion trap. The resonator was required to achieve the voltages necessary to trap
(about 100 V), while dissipating as little power as possible (< 250 mW).
Ultimately a voltage gain of 100 was measured at 5.7 K. Single calcium ions
were confined in a trap driven by this device, providing proof of successful
resonator operation at low temperature.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Operation of a planar-electrode ion-trap array with adjustable RF electrodes
One path to realizing systems of trapped atomic ions suitable for large-scale quantum computing and simulation is to create a two-dimensional (2D) array of ion traps. Interactions between nearest-neighbouring ions could then be turned on and off by tuning the ions’ relative positions and frequencies. We demonstrate and characterize the operation of a planar-electrode ion-trap array. By driving the trap with a network of phase-locked radio-frequency resonators which provide independently variable voltage amplitudes we vary the position and motional frequency of a Ca ion in two-dimensions within the trap array. Work on fabricating a miniaturised form of this 2D trap array is also described, which could ultimately provide a viable architecture for large-scale quantum simulations.published_or_final_versio
Modes of Oscillation in Radiofrequency Paul Traps
We examine the time-dependent dynamics of ion crystals in radiofrequency
traps. The problem of stable trapping of general three-dimensional crystals is
considered and the validity of the pseudopotential approximation is discussed.
We derive analytically the micromotion amplitude of the ions, rigorously
proving well-known experimental observations. We use a method of infinite
determinants to find the modes which diagonalize the linearized time-dependent
dynamical problem. This allows obtaining explicitly the ('Floquet-Lyapunov')
transformation to coordinates of decoupled linear oscillators. We demonstrate
the utility of the method by analyzing the modes of a small `peculiar' crystal
in a linear Paul trap. The calculations can be readily generalized to
multispecies ion crystals in general multipole traps, and time-dependent
quantum wavefunctions of ion oscillations in such traps can be obtained.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures, v2 adds citations and small correction
Design, Fabrication, and Experimental Demonstration of Junction Surface Ion Traps
We present the design, fabrication, and experimental implementation of
surface ion traps with Y-shaped junctions. The traps are designed to minimize
the pseudopotential variations in the junction region at the symmetric
intersection of three linear segments. We experimentally demonstrate robust
linear and junction shuttling with greater than one million round-trip shuttles
without ion loss. By minimizing the direct line of sight between trapped ions
and dielectric surfaces, negligible day-to-day and trap-to-trap variations are
observed. In addition to high-fidelity single-ion shuttling, multiple-ion
chains survive splitting, ion-position swapping, and recombining routines. The
development of two-dimensional trapping structures is an important milestone
for ion-trap quantum computing and quantum simulations.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Surface code quantum computing by lattice surgery
In recent years, surface codes have become a leading method for quantum error
correction in theoretical large scale computational and communications
architecture designs. Their comparatively high fault-tolerant thresholds and
their natural 2-dimensional nearest neighbour (2DNN) structure make them an
obvious choice for large scale designs in experimentally realistic systems.
While fundamentally based on the toric code of Kitaev, there are many variants,
two of which are the planar- and defect- based codes. Planar codes require
fewer qubits to implement (for the same strength of error correction), but are
restricted to encoding a single qubit of information. Interactions between
encoded qubits are achieved via transversal operations, thus destroying the
inherent 2DNN nature of the code. In this paper we introduce a new technique
enabling the coupling of two planar codes without transversal operations,
maintaining the 2DNN of the encoded computer. Our lattice surgery technique
comprises splitting and merging planar code surfaces, and enables us to perform
universal quantum computation (including magic state injection) while removing
the need for braided logic in a strictly 2DNN design, and hence reduces the
overall qubit resources for logic operations. Those resources are further
reduced by the use of a rotated lattice for the planar encoding. We show how
lattice surgery allows us to distribute encoded GHZ states in a more direct
(and overhead friendly) manner, and how a demonstration of an encoded CNOT
between two distance 3 logical states is possible with 53 physical qubits, half
of that required in any other known construction in 2D.Comment: Published version. 29 pages, 18 figure
Designing spin-spin interactions with one and two dimensional ion crystals in planar micro traps
We discuss the experimental feasibility of quantum simulation with trapped
ion crystals, using magnetic field gradients. We describe a micro structured
planar ion trap, which contains a central wire loop generating a strong
magnetic gradient of about 20 T/m in an ion crystal held about 160 \mu m above
the surface. On the theoretical side, we extend a proposal about spin-spin
interactions via magnetic gradient induced coupling (MAGIC) [Johanning, et al,
J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 42 (2009) 154009]. We describe aspects where
planar ion traps promise novel physics: Spin-spin coupling strengths of
transversal eigenmodes exhibit significant advantages over the coupling schemes
in longitudinal direction that have been previously investigated. With a chip
device and a magnetic field coil with small inductance, a resonant enhancement
of magnetic spin forces through the application of alternating magnetic field
gradients is proposed. Such resonantly enhanced spin-spin coupling may be used,
for instance, to create Schr\"odinger cat states. Finally we investigate
magnetic gradient interactions in two-dimensional ion crystals, and discuss
frustration effects in such two-dimensional arrangements.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figure