Trapping of Single Atoms in Metasurface Optical Tweezer Arrays
arXiv:2411.05321 · doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09961-5
Abstract
Optical tweezer arrays have emerged as a key experimental platform for quantum computation, quantum simulation, and quantum metrology, enabling unprecedented levels of control over single atoms and molecules. However, existing tweezer platforms have fundamental limitations in array geometry, size, and scalability. Here we demonstrate the trapping of single strontium atoms in optical tweezer arrays generated via holographic metasurfaces. We realize two dimensional arrays with more than 1000 trapped atoms, arranged in arbitrary geometries with trap spacings as small as 1.5 um. The arrays have a high uniformity in terms of trap depth, trap frequency, and positional accuracy, rivaling or surpassing existing approaches. This is enabled by highly efficient holographic metasurfaces fabricated from high-refractive index materials, silicon-rich silicon nitride and titanium dioxide. Leveraging sub-micrometer pixel sizes and high pixel densities, our platform allows scaling far beyond current capabilities. As a demonstration, we realize an optical tweezer array with 360,000 traps. These advances will facilitate tweezer-array based quantum applications that require large system sizes.
arXiv comment17 pages, 6 main figures, 9 extended data figures
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