Fluctuating Potentials In Micrometer Scale Atomic Ion Traps

Electromagnetic confinement of atomic ion qubits coupled with laser cooling has permitted observation of 10 minute coherence times [1, 2]. Recent work to miniaturize electromagnetic traps promises qubit densities attractive for large scale quantum computing [3]. However, motional heating resulting from poorly understood fluctuating trapping potentials is observed to increase as approximately dimensions$^{-4}$ [4]. We discuss efforts to suppress this heating and present experimental results for several microtrap fabrication techniques [5, 6]. [1] P. T. H. Fisk et al., IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas. 44, 113 (1995). [2] J. J. Bollinger et al., IEEE Trans. Instrum. Measurement 40, 126 (1991). [3] A. Steane, quant-ph/0412165. [4] L. Deslauriers et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 103007 (2006). [5] S. Seidelin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 253003 (2006). [6] J. Britton et al., quant-ph/0605170.