A scalable helium gas cooling system for trapped-ion applications

TL;DR

This paper presents a modular helium gas cooling system designed to effectively manage thermal loads in large-scale, multi-ion-trap quantum computing architectures, enabling scalable and efficient operation.

Contribution

It introduces an extensible cryostat system capable of cooling multiple ion-trap experiments simultaneously, addressing thermal management challenges in scalable quantum devices.

Findings

Delivers 111 W cooling power at ~70 K for four experiments

Successfully tested on two independent ion-trap setups

Supports large-scale quantum computing with improved thermal regulation

Abstract

Microfabricated ion-trap devices offer a promising pathway towards scalable quantum computing. Research efforts have begun to focus on the engineering challenges associated with developing large-scale ion-trap arrays and networks. However, increasing the size of the array and integrating on-chip electronics can drastically increase the power dissipation within the ion-trap chips. This leads to an increase in the operating temperature of the ion-trap and limits the device performance. Therefore, effective thermal management is an essential consideration for any large-scale architecture. Presented here is the development of a modular cooling system designed for use with multiple ion-trapping experiments simultaneously. The system includes an extensible cryostat that permits scaling of the cooling power to meet the demands of a large network. Following experimental testing on two independent ion-trap experiments, the cooling system is expected to deliver a net cooling power of 111 W at ~70 K to up to four experiments. The cooling system is a step towards meeting the practical challenges of operating large-scale quantum computers with many qubits.