Quantum interface between an electrical circuit and a single atom

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to connect single ions with electrical circuits, enabling quantum information transfer between atomic and solid-state systems, and paving the way for integrated quantum networks.

Contribution

It introduces a novel coupling technique between ion motion and circuit electric fields, matching internal-state coupling speeds and enabling quantum interfaces across different qubit platforms.

Findings

Coupling speed comparable to ion internal-state interactions

Potential for converting quantum protocols between ions and circuits

Foundation for quantum connections between different metrology standards

Abstract

We show how to bridge the divide between atomic systems and electronic devices by engineering a coupling between the motion of a single ion and the quantized electric field of a resonant circuit. Our method can be used to couple the internal state of an ion to the quantized circuit with the same speed as the internal-state coupling between two ions. All the well-known quantum information protocols linking ion internal and motional states can be converted to protocols between circuit photons and ion internal states. Our results enable quantum interfaces between solid state qubits, atomic qubits, and light, and lay the groundwork for a direct quantum connection between electrical and atomic metrology standards.