A Robust Strontium Tweezer Apparatus for Quantum Computing

TL;DR

This paper presents a versatile and robust apparatus for trapping and imaging single strontium atoms in a 5x5 optical tweezer array, advancing neutral atom quantum computing technology.

Contribution

It introduces a novel setup capable of stochastically loading a 5x5 array of Sr atoms with high fidelity and survival, suitable for quantum computing applications.

Findings

Achieved high-fidelity imaging of Sr atoms (~0.997)

Loaded a 5x5 array of optical tweezers with single atoms

Maintained a high survival probability of 0.99+/-0.01

Abstract

Neutral atoms for quantum computing applications show promise in terms of scalability and connectivity. We demonstrate the realization of a versatile apparatus capable of stochastically loading a 5x5 array of optical tweezers with single $^{88}$Sr atoms featuring flexible magnetic field control and excellent optical access. A custom-designed oven, spin-flip Zeeman slower, and deflection stage produce a controlled flux of Sr directed to the science chamber. In the science chamber, featuring a vacuum pressure of $3 \times 10^{-11}$ mbar, the Sr is cooled using two laser cooling stages, resulting in $\sim 3 \times 10^5$ atoms at a temperature of 5(1) $\mu$K. The optical tweezers feature a $1/e^2$ waist of 0.81(2) $\mu$m, and loaded atoms can be imaged with a fidelity of $\sim 0.997$ and a survival probability of $0.99^{+0.01}_{-0.02}$. The atomic array presented here forms the core of a full-stack quantum computing processor targeted for quantum chemistry computational problems.