Microfabricated surface-electrode ion traps for scalable quantum information processing*

We confine individual atomic ions in an rf Paul trap with a novel geometry where the electrodes are located in a single plane and the ions confined above this plane [1,2,3]. This device is realized with simple fabrication procedures, making it a potential candidate for a scalable ion trap for quantum information processing using large numbers of ions. We confine laser-cooled ions 40 micrometers above planar electrodes. These electrodes are fabricated from gold on a fused quartz substrate. The heating rate of the ions is low enough to make the trap useful for quantum information processing. [1] J. Chiaverini et al., Quantum Inf. Comput. \textbf{5}, 419 (2005). [2] S. Seidelin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{96}, 253003 (2006). [3] J. Britton et al., quant-ph/0605170.