High fidelity transport of trapped-ion qubits through an X-junction trap array

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates reliable, high-fidelity transport of 9Be+ ions through a complex 2D trap array with minimal energy gain and preserved quantum coherence, addressing key challenges for scalable quantum computing.

Contribution

It introduces a method for transporting ions through an X-junction trap array with minimal motional energy increase and coherence loss, advancing scalable ion-trap quantum processors.

Findings

Ion transport increases motional energy by only a few quanta

Internal-state coherence is preserved during transport

Identifies RF noise and digital sampling as sources of energy gain

Abstract

We report reliable transport of 9Be+ ions through a 2-D trap array that includes a separate loading/reservoir zone and an "X-junction". During transport the ion's kinetic energy in its local well increases by only a few motional quanta and internal-state coherences are preserved. We also examine two sources of energy gain during transport: a particular radio-frequency (RF) noise heating mechanism and digital sampling noise. Such studies are important to achieve scaling in a trapped-ion quantum information processor.