Trapping an Atomic Ion using Time-Division Multiplexed Digital-to-Analog Converters

TL;DR

This paper introduces a scalable voltage control method using time-division multiplexing with a single DAC to control multiple electrodes in ion trapping devices, reducing hardware complexity.

Contribution

The authors develop and experimentally validate a TDM-based control system that significantly reduces the number of DACs needed for ion trap control.

Findings

Successfully trapped a single $^{40} ext{Ca}^+$ ion using the TDM system.

Demonstrated ion transport primitive with only two DACs.

Reduced wiring and hardware requirements for quantum ion trap systems.

Abstract

Independent control of numerous electrodes in quantum charge-coupled device architectures presents a significant challenge for wiring and hardware scalability. To address this issue, we demonstrate a voltage control method based on time-division multiplexing (TDM). This approach utilizes a single high-update-rate digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to sequentially generate control signals for multiple electrodes, thereby reducing both the number of required DACs and associated wiring. We experimentally validate this concept by developing a 10-channel system that operates with only two DACs. The developed TDM-based voltage control system is applied to a surface-electrode trap, where we successfully trap a single $^{40}\mathrm{Ca}^+$ ion and demonstrate a simple ion transport primitive. This approach offers a resource-efficient and scalable solution for advanced quantum computing systems based on trapped ions.