Neutral Atoms in Tweezer Arrays for Hybrid Quantum Computing

Neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezers show promise as an implementation of quantum computation. For example, the number of qubits can be scaled up by increasing the trapping laser power. In Eindhoven, we are constructing a tweezer machine that is planned to connect to the Quantum Inspire program of Quantum Delta NL in 2024 as part of the KAT-1 program. It will feature strontium-88 atoms trapped in an array of optical tweezers generated using holography (spatial light modulator) and a high-resolution microscope objective. The chosen qubit states are 1S0 and 3P0, which are connected by the doubly forbidden clock transition. Site-selective control of the clock laser onto the qubits will be done with the help of acousto-optic deflectors. Entanglement will be generated by coupling the qubits to a 3S1 Rydberg state using 317 nm laser pulses illuminating the full tweezer array. The quantum processor will run hybrid variational type algorithms, for example pulse-based optimization algorithms, whereby the quantum processor runs in tandem with a classical processor.

On the poster, we will show recent progress towards this goal: we elaborate on the design of the apparatus and show an experimental results on of trapping ultra-cold strontium atoms in “blue” and “red” magneto-optical traps.