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Controlling Two-Dimensional Coulomb Crystals of More Than 100 Ions in a Monolithic Radio-Frequency Trap

Dominik Kiesenhofer1,2, Helene Hainzer1,2, Artem Zhdanov1, Philip C. Holz3, Matthias Bock1,2, Tuomas Ollikainen1,2, and Christian F. Roos1,2,*

  • 1Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
  • 2Institut für Quantenoptik und Quanteninformation, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Technikerstraße 21a, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
  • 3Alpine Quantum Technologies GmbH, Technikerstraße 17/1, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

  • *christian.roos@uibk.ac.at
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PRX Quantum 4, 020317 – Published 28 April, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.4.020317

Abstract

Linear strings of trapped atomic ions held in radio-frequency (rf) traps constitute one of the leading platforms for quantum simulation experiments, allowing the investigation of interacting quantum matter. However, linear ion strings have drawbacks, such as the difficulty of scaling beyond approximately 50 particles as well as the inability to naturally implement spin models with more than one spatial dimension. Here we present experiments with planar Coulomb crystals of up to 105 40Ca+ ions in a novel monolithic rf trap, laying the groundwork for quantum simulations of two-dimensional spin models with single-particle control. We characterize the trapping potential by analysis of crystal images and compare the observed crystal configurations with numerical simulations. We further demonstrate stable confinement of large crystals, free of structural configuration changes, and find that rf heating of the crystal is not an obstacle for future quantum simulation experiments. Finally, we prepare the out-of-plane motional modes of planar crystals consisting of up to 105 ions close to their ground state by electromagnetically induced transparency cooling, an important prerequisite for implementing long-range entangling interactions.

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Popular Summary

When atomic ions are confined in radio-frequency (rf) traps and laser cooled to millikelvin temperatures they form Coulomb crystals. Precise quantum control of these crystals is achieved via laser light, manipulating the quantum states of individual ions and engineering interactions between them. This has enabled ion crystals to become one of the leading platforms for experiments in quantum information science. A major challenge is to scale up the size of precisely controllable quantum systems in order to investigate quantum many-body physics phenomena, which become intractable for classical computers once the system size exceeds a few tens of particles.

In our article we address this issue of scalability: We present a novel experimental apparatus capable of trapping and controlling up to 105 ions. In particular, we work with planar crystals to overcome the technical limitations that linear ion crystals face beyond a threshold of about 50 particles. We demonstrate an excellent level of control and stability of large ion crystals, proving that the challenges that have so far prevented the establishment of 2D crystals as state of the art are not obstacles. Our major results include the mitigation of crystal lattice instabilities caused by collisions of the ions with residual background gas in the vacuum chamber, as well as cooling all out-of-plane collective modes of the ion crystal close to the motional ground state, a prerequisite for entangling interactions. The latter will be implemented in the near future, along with single-particle control, for the investigation of interacting quantum many-body systems.

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PRX Quantum 4, 020317– Published 28 April, 2023
  • Received 2 February 2023
  • Accepted 6 April 2023
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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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