Reliable transport through a microfabricated X-junction surface-electrode ion trap

TL;DR

This paper presents a scalable microfabricated surface-electrode ion trap with optimized geometry enabling reliable ion transport, trapping, and merging at a junction, advancing quantum information processing capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a VLSI-compatible ion trap design with genetic algorithm optimization for improved ion transport and control, demonstrating high reliability and scalability.

Findings

Reliable ion transport through the junction with over 10^5 transits without loss

Successful trapping and manipulation of ion chains with precise control

Demonstrated merging and splitting of ions in a scalable trap architecture

Abstract

We report the design, fabrication, and characterization of a microfabricated surface-electrode ion trap that supports controlled transport through the two-dimensional intersection of linear trapping zones arranged in a ninety-degree cross. The trap is fabricated with very-large-scalable-integration (VLSI) techniques which are compatible with scaling to a larger quantum information processor. The shape of the radio-frequency (RF) electrodes is optimized with a genetic algorithm to minimize axial pseudopotential barriers and to minimize ion heating during transport. Seventy-eight independent DC control electrodes enable fine control of the trapping potentials. We demonstrate reliable ion transport between junction legs, trapping of ion chains with nearly-equal spacing in one of the trap's linear sections, and merging and splitting ions from these chains. Doppler-cooled ions survive more than 10^5 round-trip transits between junction legs without loss and more than sixty-five consecutive round trips without laser cooling.