Susceptibility of Trapped-Ion Qubits to Low-Dose Radiation Sources

TL;DR

This study experimentally assesses how low-dose ionizing radiation affects trapped-ion qubits, finding no measurable impact on their performance, which supports their robustness in extreme environments.

Contribution

First experimental investigation into the effects of low-dose radiation on trapped-ion quantum systems, demonstrating their resilience and informing future deployment in harsh settings.

Findings

No measurable degradation in qubit performance under low-dose radiation

Ion trap coherence times and gate fidelities remain stable

Results suggest ion-based quantum systems are robust in extreme environments

Abstract

We experimentally study the real-time susceptibility of trapped-ion quantum systems to small doses of ionizing radiation. We expose an ion-trap apparatus to a variety of $\alpha$, $\beta$, and $\gamma$ sources and measure the resulting changes in trapped-ion qubit lifetimes, coherence times, gate fidelities, and motional heating rates. We found no quantifiable degradation of ion trap performance in the presence of low-dose radiation sources for any of the measurements performed. This finding is encouraging for the long-term prospects of using ion-based quantum information systems in extreme environments, indicating that much larger doses may be required to induce errors in trapped-ion quantum processors.