Shanalyn A. Kemme

One of the outstanding challenges for ion trap quantum information processing is to accurately detect the states of many ions in a scalable fashion. In the particular case of surface traps, geometric constraints make imaging perpendicular to the surface appealing for light collection at multiple locations with minimal cross-talk. In this report we describe an experiment integrating Diffractive Optic Elements (DOE's) with surface electrode traps, connected through in-vacuum multi-mode fibers. The square DOE's reported here were all designed with solid angle collection efficiencies of 3.58%; with all losses included a detection efficiency of 0.388% (1.02% excluding the PMT loss) was measured with a single Ca+ ion. The presence of the DOE had minimal effect on the stability of the ion, both in temporal variation of stray electric fields and in motional heating rates.

We have successfully demonstrated an integrated optical system for collecting the fluorescence from a trapped ion. The system, consisting of an array of transmissive, dielectric micro-optics and an optical fiber array, has been intimately incorporated into the ion-trapping chip without negatively impacting trapping performance. Epoxies, vacuum feedthrough, and optical component materials were carefully chosen so that they did not degrade the vacuum environment, and we have demonstrated light detection as well as ion trapping and shuttling behavior comparable to trapping chips without integrated optics, with no modification to the control voltages of the trapping chip.