AFRL/RITQ - Trapped Ions QUANTUM NETWORKING WITH TRAPPED IONS AFRL’s trapped ion team investigates quantum mechanics and quantum information science with the long-term goal of constructing a quantum network made for processing and transmitting quantum information. Quantum networks can be used for a variety of tasks including secure communication, a network of clocks, phased sensor arrays, and large scale quantum information processing. The quantum bits in this lab are laser-cooled, trapped ions. Since trapped ions are pristine, identical atomic clocks, trapped ions are a leading contender for building large-scale quantum information systems. Trapped ions naturally provide high quality memories for storing and retrieving quantum information. In addition, ions have two buses to connect the quantum bits together: their mutual electric repulsion (phonons) for intra-node information processing and emitted photons for inter-node information transmission. To date, most trapped ion systems use the Coulomb force to entangle the ions that directly interact with each other. Our goal is to distribute entanglement between and within both homogenous (trapped ion) and heterogeneous (trapped ion, quantum photonic integrated circuits, superconducting qubits) quantum network nodes to explore quantum networking applications. We have labs on AFRL's RI campus and in the Innovare Advancement Center. CLICK HERE to visit our other quantum labs. GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL Dr. Kathy-Anne Soderberg, AFRL Team Lead - Principal Research Physicist Dr. David Hucul, AFRL - Senior Physicist Dr. Zachary Smith, AFRL - Senior Physicist Garrett Percevault, AFRL - Student Intern Nicholas Barton, Contractor - Research Assistant Andrew Brownell, Contractor - Research Assistant Clayton Craft, Contractor - Research Assistant Andrew Klug, Contractor - Research Assistant Michael Macalik, Contractor - Research Assistant Kenneth Scalzi, Contractor - Research Assistant REFERENCES AND USEFUL LINKS PUBLICATIONS 2020 “Application of a self-injection locked cyan laser for barium ion cooling and spectroscopy,” A.A. Savchenkov, J.E. Christensen, D. Hucul, W.C. Campbell, E.R. Hudson, S. Williams, and A.B. Matsko. Nature Sci. Rep 10, 16494 (2020). “High fidelity manipulation of a qubit enabled by a manufactured nucleus,” J.E. Christensen, D. Hucul, W.C. Campbell, and E.R. Hudson, npj Quan Inf 6, 35 (2020). 2018 “Towards using trapped ions as memory nodes in a photon-mediated quantum network,” B. Tabakov, J. Bell, D.F. Bogorin, B. Bonenfant, P. Cook, L. Disney, T. Dolezal, J.P. O’Reilly, J. Phillips, K. Poole, L. Wessing, and K.-A. Brickman-Soderberg. Proc. SPIE 10660, Quantum Information Science, Sensing, and Computation X, 106600L (2018). ALUMNI Carson Woodford, AFRL Civilian William Grant, Binghampton University Capt James Williams, Military (USAF) Paige Haas, Dressage Instructor Justin Phillips, Grad Student at Berkeley (Physics) Boyan Tabakov, AFOSR Harris Rutbeck-Goldman, SRI Laboratory Lt Kaitlin Poole, Air Force Institute of Technology Daniela Bogorin, IBM T.J. Watson Quantum Research Lt Nathan Woodford, Grad student at Utah State Jameson O'Reilly, Grad student at Duke Nathan Amidon Savannah Decker, Grad student at Dartmouth Brandon Robinson Brenna Nelson Benjamin Bonenfant Lt Lester Disney Lt Jackson Bell EMAIL US iontrapping@afrl.af.mil