Exploring Integrated Technologies to Advance Trapped-Ion Quantum Computing

CQT Online Talks – Series: Colloquium

Speaker: John Chiaverini, MIT
Abstract: Trapped atomic ions have long demonstrated coherence times, and low-error single- and multi-qubit logic operations can be performed using electromagnetic radiation, making them natural candidates for quantum information processing (QIP). Systems in the research and commercial sector allow investigation of small quantum algorithms and the basics of quantum error correction, but to achieve practical advantage, such systems must be made more robust while the control mechanisms are enhanced to manipulate ions in larger arrays. Conventional technologies rapidly become cumbersome when pushing in this direction. We have recently developed control technologies for trapped-ion qubits that are amenable to integration into chip-based trap arrays; these include waveguide-based optics covering many relevant wavelengths, classical electronics that have the potential to increase speed and reduce interconnect overhead, and photodetectors for qubit state readout. These technologies must be explored in light of proposed architectures for QIP, but they show potential to enable platforms that surpass today’s quantum processors in their impact on future quantum science and engineering.