Integrated photonic structures for photon-mediated entanglement of trapped ions

TL;DR

This paper explores integrated photonic structures integrated with ion traps to enhance photon collection and manipulation for scalable quantum information processing, demonstrating promising design and fabrication considerations.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis and simulation of monolithic integrated photonic structures for ion-photon coupling, advancing scalable quantum network architectures.

Findings

Integrated photonics can achieve comparable collection efficiency to free-space optics.

Design simulations show feasible fabrication of ion-trap integrated photonic devices.

Analysis indicates potential for scalable photon-mediated entanglement in trapped-ion systems.

Abstract

Trapped atomic ions are natural candidates for quantum information processing and have the potential to realize or improve quantum computing, sensing, and networking. These applications often require the collection of individual photons emitted from ions into guided optical modes, in some cases for the production of entanglement between separated ions. Proof-of-principle demonstrations of such photon collection from trapped ions have been performed using high-numerical-aperture lenses or cavities and single-mode fibers, but integrated photonic elements in ion-trap structures offer advantages in scalability and manufacturabilty over traditional optics. In this paper we analyze structures monolithically fabricated with an ion trap for collecting ion-emitted photons, coupling them into waveguides, and manipulating them via interference. We calculate geometric limitations on collection efficiency for this scheme, simulate a single-layer grating that shows performance comparable to demonstrated free-space optics, and discuss practical fabrication and fidelity considerations. Based on this analysis, we conclude that integrated photonics can support scalable systems of trapped-ions that can distribute quantum information via photon-mediated entanglement.