An optical tweezer array of ground-state polar molecules

TL;DR

This paper reports the successful creation and control of an array of five ground-state polar molecules in optical tweezers, enabling studies of molecular interactions and quantum applications.

Contribution

It extends previous single-molecule techniques to an array of five molecules, addressing scaling challenges and demonstrating parallel control.

Findings

Array of five ground-state polar molecules achieved

Technical solutions for scaling optical tweezer systems

Platform enables exploration of molecular interactions

Abstract

Fully internal and motional state controlled and individually manipulable polar molecules are desirable for many quantum science applications leveraging the rich state space and intrinsic interactions of molecules. While prior efforts at assembling molecules from their constituent atoms individually trapped in optical tweezers achieved such a goal for exactly one molecule, here we extend the technique to an array of five molecules, unlocking the ability to study molecular interactions. We detail the technical challenges and solutions inherent in scaling this system up. With parallel preparation and control of multiple molecules in hand, this platform now serves as a starting point to harness the vast resources and long-range dipolar interactions of molecules.