Transport dynamics of single ions in segmented microstructured Paul trap arrays

We have demonstrated transport of Be+ ions through a 2D Paul-trap array that incorporates an X-junction, while maintaining the ions near the motional ground-state of the confining potential well. We expand on the first report of the experiment [1], including a detailed discussion of how the transport potentials were calculated. Two main mechanisms that caused motional excitation during transport are explained, along with the methods used to mitigate such excitation. We reduce...

We describe the construction and operation of a segmented linear Paul trap, fabricated in printed-circuit-board technology with an electrode segment width of 500 microns. We prove the applicability of this technology to reliable ion trapping and report the observation of Doppler cooled ion crystals of Ca-40 with this kind of traps. Measured trap frequencies agree with numerical simulations at the level of a few percent from which we infer a high fabrication accuracy of the se...

We propose an architecture and methodology for large-scale quantum simulations using hyperfine states of trapped-ions in an arbitrary-layout microtrap array with laserless interactions. An ion is trapped at each site, and the electrode structure provides for the application of single and pairwise evolution operators using only locally created microwave and radio-frequency fields. The avoidance of short-lived atomic levels during evolution effectively eliminates errors due to ...

We report on the design and testing of an array of Penning ion traps made from printed circuit board. The system enables fast shuttling of ions from one trapping zone to another, which could be of use in quantum information processing. We describe simulations carried out to determine the optimal potentials to be applied to the trap electrodes for enabling this movement. The results of a preliminary experiment with a cloud of laser cooled calcium ions demonstrate a round-trip ...

Many efforts are currently underway to build a device capable of large scale quantum information processing (QIP). Whereas QIP has been demonstrated for a few qubits in several systems, many technical difficulties must be overcome in order to construct a large-scale device. In one proposal for large-scale QIP, trapped ions are manipulated by precisely controlled light pulses and moved through and stored in multizone trap arrays. The technical overhead necessary to precisely c...

In the endeavour to scale up the number of qubits in an ion-based quantum computer several groups have started to develop miniaturized ion traps for extended spatial control and manipulation of the ions. Shuttling and separation of ion strings have been the foremost issues in linear-trap arrangements and some prototypes of junctions have been demonstrated for the extension of ion motion to two dimensions (2D). While junctions require complex trap structures, small extensions ...

Scaling quantum information processors is a challenging task, requiring manipulation of a large number of qubits with high fidelity and a high degree of connectivity. For trapped ions, this could be realized in a two-dimensional array of interconnected traps in which ions are separated, transported and recombined to carry out quantum operations on small subsets of ions. Here, we use a junction connecting orthogonal linear segments in a two-dimensional (2D) trap array to reord...

We experimentally demonstrate fast separation of a two-ion crystal in a microstructured segmented Paul trap. By the use of spectroscopic calibration routines for the electrostatic trap potentials, we achieve the required precise control of the ion trajectories near the \textit{critical point}, where the harmonic confinement by the external potential vanishes. The separation procedure can be controlled by three parameters: A static potential tilt, a voltage offset at the criti...

Miniaturized ion trap arrays with many trap segments present a promising architecture for scalable quantum information processing. The miniaturization of segmented linear Paul traps allows partitioning the microtrap in different storage and processing zones. The individual position control of many ions - each of them carrying qubit information in its long-lived electronic levels - by the external trap control voltages is important for the implementation of next generation lar...

Atomic ions confined in multi-electrode traps have been proposed as a basis for scalable quantum information processing. This scheme involves transporting ions between spatially distinct locations by use of time-varying electric potentials combined with laser or microwave pulses for quantum logic in specific locations. We report the development of a fast multi-channel arbitrary waveform generator for applying the time-varying electric potentials used for transport and for sha...