Near-deterministic loading of optical tweezer arrays via repulsive barricade potentials

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method using repulsive barricade potentials in optical tweezers to significantly improve loading efficiency and achieve near-deterministic array filling, advancing quantum simulation and computation.

Contribution

The authors propose a general scheme with repulsive barriers for multiple loading cycles, boosting loading probabilities to over 80% for molecules and 90% for atoms, enabling scalable quantum platforms.

Findings

Loading probabilities reach 82% for molecules and 94% for atoms after four cycles.

Collision-limited lifetimes of trapped particles can reach hundreds of milliseconds.

Combined with rearrangement, this method enables near-unity filling of tweezer arrays.

Abstract

Optical tweezers are a powerful tool for creating defect-free arrays of atoms and molecules, enabling advances in quantum simulation, computation, and precision metrology. However, the achievable array size is limited by the initial loading fraction, typically $50\,\%$ for atoms and $35\,\%$ for molecules. Here, we propose a general scheme for enabling multiple loading cycles by protecting trapped particles using a repulsive barrier. We show that collision-limited lifetimes of particles in protected tweezers can reach hundreds of milliseconds, allowing loading probabilities of $82\,\%$ for molecules and $94\,\%$ for atoms after four loading cycles. Combined with existing rearrangement techniques, this approach enables efficient unity filling of tweezer arrays and provides a scalable pathway towards larger quantum technology platforms.