Dresden 2011 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 23: Poster 2: Intersectional Session
Q 23.39: Poster
Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 18:00–21:00, P1
Fast and stable laser pulses using EOM for quantum information — •Stephan Quint1, Daniel Nigg1, Philipp Schindler1, Markus Hennrich1, and Rainer Blatt1,2 — 1Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria — 2Institut für Quantenoptik und Quanteninformation, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Technikerstr. 21A, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Technical developments in the field of quantum computing with trapped ions have made significant progress and allow one to perform single- and two-qubit quantum gates with fidelities of up to 99%. Further technological improvements are necessary to reduce the operational errors below the fault-tolerant threshold of 10−3 - 10−4. One important source of errors are intensity fluctuations of the laser pulses used to manipulate the electrical and vibrational states of the ions. For quantum computer experiments with ions, acousto-optical modulators (AOM) are used to shape and tune these pulses. Unfortunately, thermal effects within the AOM crystal lead to intensity fluctuations of the laser intensity. This problem is overcome by using an electro-optical modulator (EOM) to shape the amplitude of the applied pulses. Besides better thermal stability, EOMs enable faster switching speeds than AOMs. An EOM, however, requires sophisticated control electronics to drive laser pulses and to compensate for drifts. In this presentation, the control electronics for generating laser pulses with an EOM is discussed and the use of this device for quantum information processing with trapped ions is reviewed.