Optimisation of Scalable Ion-Cavity Interfaces for Quantum Photonic Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a systematic optimization method for ion-cavity interfaces in quantum networks, focusing on simplifying design trade-offs and identifying robust operating regimes to enhance scalability and efficiency.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach to optimize ion-cavity systems by separating geometric and atomic parameters, enabling efficient design even with mirror misalignments.

Findings

High photon extraction efficiency is achievable despite mirror misalignments.

The optimization approach simplifies the design process by decoupling geometric and atomic factors.

Scalable ion-cavity interfaces are feasible with practical engineering tolerances.

Abstract

In the design optimisation of ion-cavity interfaces for quantum networking applications, difficulties occur due to the many competing figures of merit and highly interdependent design constraints, many of which present `soft-limits', amenable to improvement at the cost of engineering time. In this work we present a systematic approach to this problem which offers a means to identify efficient and robust operating regimes, and to elucidate the trade-offs involved in the design process, allowing engineering efforts to be focused on the most sensitive and critical parameters. We show that in many relevant cases it is possible to approximately separate the geometric aspects of the cooperativity from those associated with the atomic system and the mirror surfaces themselves, greatly simplifying the optimisation procedure. Although our approach to optimisation can be applied to most operating regimes, here we consider cavities suitable for typical ion trapping experiments, and with substantial transverse misalignment of the mirrors. We find that cavities with mirror misalignments of many micrometres can still offer very high photon extraction efficiencies, offering an appealing route to the scalable production of ion-cavity interfaces for large scale quantum networks.