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  • Open Access

Free-Space Quantum Interface of a Single Atomic Tweezer Array with Light

Yakov Solomons1,*, Roni Ben-Maimon1,*, Arpit Behera2,*, Ofer Firstenberg2, Nir Davidson2, and Ephraim Shahmoon1,†

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: ephraim.shahmoon@weizmann.ac.il
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PRX Quantum 7, 010342 – Published 2 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9bv5-f37d

Abstract

We present a practical approach for interfacing light with a two-dimensional atomic tweezer array. Typical paraxial fields are poorly matched to the array’s multi-diffraction-order radiation pattern, thus severely limiting the interface coupling efficiency. Instead, we propose to design a field mode that naturally couples to the array: it consists of a unique superposition of multiple beams corresponding to the array’s diffraction orders. This composite mode can be generated from a single Gaussian beam using standard free-space optics, including spatial light modulators and a single objective lens. For a triangular array with lattice spacing about twice the wavelength, all diffraction angles remain below 35∘, making the scheme compatible with standard objectives of numerical aperture NA≤0.7. Our analytical theory and scattering simulations reveal that the interface efficiency r0 for quantum information tasks scales favorably with the array atom number N: reaching >0.99 (>0.9999) for N=149 (N∼1000) and scaling as 1−r0∼1/N for large N. The scheme is robust to optical imperfections and atomic-position errors, offering a viable path for quantum light-matter applications in current tweezer-array platforms.

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Popular Summary

Arrays of atoms trapped in optical tweezers have become a leading platform for quantum science and technology, offering precise control of individual atoms for applications in quantum computing, communication, and sensing. A central challenge is to efficiently couple such arrays to light the carrier of quantum information. This difficulty arises from a fundamental mismatch between the radiation pattern of the array and the shape of standard optical beams: while a tweezer array naturally emits light into multiple diffraction-order directions, conventional paraxial beams overlap with only one of them, resulting in a strong reduction of coupling efficiency.

This work introduces a practical and conceptually method to overcome this limitation. The approach designs a composite multibeam optical mode that directly matches the array’s natural multidiffraction radiation pattern. Instead of treating the additional diffraction orders as losses, they are incorporated into the desired optical mode. Analytical theory, supported by numerical simulations, shows that this method achieves near-perfect coupling efficiencies above 99% for arrays with 150 atoms, and approaching 99.99% for arrays with around 1000 atoms using only standard free-space optics at moderate numerical apertures.

The results demonstrate that efficient quantum interfaces can be realized in free space without cavities or complex array structures. This opens new opportunities for high-fidelity quantum-state readout, light-mediated connections between atomic nodes, and the exploration of collective quantum nonlinear optics, paving the way toward scalable and high-performance quantum optical systems.

Article Text

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PRX Quantum 7, 010342– Published 2 March, 2026
  • Received 27 October 2025
  • Accepted 21 January 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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