Acousto-optic lens for 3D shuttling of atoms in a neutral atom quantum computer*

We introduce a modified acoustic optical lens (AOL) for neutral atom quantum computing, enhancing the speed of atom shuttling in three-dimensional space. By decoupling transverse movement and focal tuning through the employment of a double-pass Acousto-Optic Deflector (AOD) configuration, this new AOL design provides inertia-free, high-speed focus tunability compared to liquid lenses. Addressing the limitations of existing 2D AOD-based shuttling methods, which constrain atom movement to a single plane, our approach facilitates the rearrangement of tweezer arrays, coherent transport for two-qubit gates, and mid-circuit measurements. We optically test the new AOL design and characterize its performance, paving the way for facilitating 3D shuttling of atoms in neutral atom quantum computers.