EP-4740147-A2 - TEMPORARILY CHANGING THE QUANTIZATION FIELD OF AN ATOMIC OBJECT CONFINEMENT APPARATUS

Abstract

An atomic object confinement apparatus comprising a plurality of electrodes and one or more quasi -direct-current (quasi-DC) circuits. The plurality of electrodes comprise a plurality of radio frequency (RF) rail electrodes arranged to define, at least in part, a periodic array of confinement segments. The plurality of RF rail electrodes are configured such that, when an oscillating voltage signal is applied thereto, the plurality of RF rail electrodes generate a pseudopotential in a form of an array of trapping regions configured to contain at least one atomic object within a respective trapping region of the array of trapping regions. The one or more quasi -direct-current (quasi-DC) circuits are arranged to generate a magnetic field having a selectable magnitude and a selectable direction, such that the generated magnetic field acts on at least one atomic object within the array of trapping regions.

Inventors

• SUTHERLAND, ROBERT TYLER
• ERICKSON, STEPHEN

Assignees

• Quantinuum LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240701

Claims (20)

1. 1. An atomic object confinement apparatus comprising: a plurality of electrodes comprising a plurality of radio frequency (RF) rail electrodes, the plurality of RF rail electrodes arranged to define, at least in part, a periodic array of confinement segments, wherein the plurality of RF rail electrodes are configured such that, when an oscillating voltage signal is applied thereto, the plurality of RF rail electrodes generate a pseudopotential in a form of an array of trapping regions configured to contain at least one atomic object within a respective trapping region of the array of trapping regions; and one or more quasi-direct-current (quasi-DC) circuits arranged to generate a magnetic field having a selectable magnitude and a selectable direction, wherein the generated magnetic field acts on at least one atomic object within the array of trapping regions.
2. 2. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 1, wherein the magnitude and the direction of the generated magnetic field are based on a magnitude and a direction of a current flowing through the one or more quasi-DC circuits.
3. 3. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 1, wherein the magnitude and the direction of the generated magnetic field are selected based on an operation to be performed.
4. 4. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 3, wherein a relatively lower magnitude of the generated magnetic field is selected as a steady-state magnetic field; and wherein a relatively higher magnitude of the generated magnetic field is selected when a logical operation is to be performed within the array of trapping regions.
5. 5. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 1, wherein the generated magnetic field interacts with a preexisting, fixed magnetic field to create a combined magnetic field.
6. 6. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more quasi-DC circuits comprise first and second quasi-DC circuits arranged parallel to each other and a third quasi-DC circuit arranged perpendicularly to the first and second quasi-DC circuits.
7. 7. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 6, wherein a first current flowing through the first quasi-DC circuit and a second current flowing through the second quasi-DC circuit in a same direction as the first current generates a magnetic field in a y- direction.
8. 8. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 6, wherein a first current flowing through the first quasi-DC circuit and a second current flowing through the second quasi-DC circuit in an opposite direction from the first current generates a magnetic field in a z-direction.
9. 9. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 6, wherein a current flowing through the third quasi-DC circuit generates a magnetic field in an x-direction.
10. 10. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 1, wherein the direction of the generated magnetic field is selected to change a relative direction of polarization of a manipulation signal generated by a manipulation source.
11. 11. The atomic object confinement apparatus of claim 1, wherein each current through a respective one of the one or more quasi-DC circuits ramps up from no current to a desired direct current and ramps down from the desired direct current to no current substantially slower than a Zeeman frequency splitting within a hyperfine manifold associated with the atomic object confinement apparatus.
12. 12. A quantum computer comprising: an atomic object confinement apparatus comprising: a plurality of electrodes comprising a plurality of radio frequency (RF) rail electrodes, the plurality of RF rail electrodes arranged to define, at least in part, a periodic array of confinement segments, wherein the plurality of RF rail electrodes are configured such that, when an oscillating voltage signal is applied thereto, the plurality of RF rail electrodes generate a pseudopotential in a form of an array of trapping regions configured to contain at least one atomic object within a respective trapping region of the array of trapping regions; and one or more quasi-direct-current (quasi-DC) circuits arranged to generate a magnetic field having a selectable magnitude and a selectable direction, wherein the generated magnetic field acts on at least one atomic object within the array of trapping regions; a voltage source; and a controller configured to cause the voltage source to generate the oscillating voltage signal.
13. 13. The quantum computer of claim 12, wherein the magnitude and the direction of the generated magnetic field are based on a magnitude and a direction of a current flowing through the one or more quasi-DC circuits.
14. 14. The quantum computer of claim 12, wherein the magnitude and the direction of the generated magnetic field are selected based on an operation to be performed.
15. 15. The quantum computer of claim 14, wherein a relatively lower magnitude of the generated magnetic field is selected as a steady-state magnetic field; and wherein a relatively higher magnitude of the generated magnetic field is selected when a logical operation is to be performed within the array of trapping regions.
16. 16. The quantum computer of claim 12, wherein the generated magnetic field interacts with a preexisting, fixed magnetic field to create a combined magnetic field.
17. 17. The quantum computer of claim 12, wherein the one or more quasi-DC circuits comprise first and second quasi-DC circuits arranged parallel to each other and a third quasi-DC circuit arranged perpendicularly to the first and second quasi-DC circuits.
18. 18. The quantum computer of claim 12, wherein the direction of the generated magnetic field is selected to change a relative direction of polarization of a manipulation signal generated by a manipulation source.
19. 19. The quantum computer of claim 12, wherein each current through a respective one of the one or more quasi-DC circuits ramps up from no current to a desired direct current and ramps down from the desired direct current to no current substantially slower than a Zeeman frequency splitting within a hyperfine manifold associated with the atomic object confinement apparatus.
20. 20. A method comprising: causing a quantum object confinement apparatus to confine at least one atomic object, wherein the quantum object confinement apparatus comprises: a plurality of electrodes comprising a plurality of radio frequency (RF) rail electrodes, the plurality of RF rail electrodes arranged to define, at least in part, a periodic array of confinement segments, wherein the plurality of RF rail electrodes are configured such that, when an oscillating voltage signal is applied thereto, the plurality of RF rail electrodes generate a pseudopotential in a form of an array of trapping regions configured to contain at least one atomic object within a respective trapping region of the array of trapping regions; and generating a magnetic field via one or more quasi-direct-current (quasi-DC) circuits arranged to generate the magnetic field having a selectable magnitude and a selectable direction, wherein the generated magnetic field acts on at least one atomic object within the array of trapping regions.

Description

TEMPORARILY CHANGING THE QUANTIZATION FIELD OF AN ATOMIC OBJECT CONFINEMENT APPARATUS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No 18/738,398, filed June 10, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein, which claims priority to and the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/525,300, filed July 6, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] Various embodiments relate to quantum computers and methods for temporarily changing magnetic fields of a quantum computer. BACKGROUND [0003] Quantum charge-coupled devices (QCCD) architecture is one type of architecture that can be used for large-scale quantum computation. According to QCCD architecture, a plurality of atomic objects (e.g., ions) are confined in a quantum computer by an atomic object confinement apparatus and controlled evolution of the quantum state of the atomic objects is used to perform quantum computations. In various scenarios, the atomic object confinement apparatus may comprise a periodic array of trapping regions. For example, the periodic array of trapping regions may enable the parallelization of various operations such as transport, cooling, or qubit gating. [0004] In some contexts, such an atomic object confinement apparatus has a magnetic field, termed a quantization field or a B-field, which defines the z-axis for the ions. Additionally, in some contexts the electronic transitions that can be driven by the laser(s) or microwave fields that manipulate the atomic objects are determined in part by the effective driving field’s polarization direction relative to the quantization field direction — independent of the absolute direction of either set of field. In some contexts, the quantization field is physically set by a constant magnetic field (commonly 2-5 Gauss) pointing in fixed direction relative to the atomic object confinement apparatus. In some contexts, the quantization field is created using permanent magnetics, possibly with external Helmholtz coils added for stabilization. Because such quantization fields are fixed and constant, the magnetic field is the same regardless of which (if any) operation is being performed on the atomic objects. [0005] Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation many deficiencies of such quantum object confinement apparatuses and methods of use thereof have been solved by developing solutions that are structured in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, many examples of which are described in detail herein. BRIEF SUMMARY OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS [0006] Example embodiments relate to the quantization field of a quantum computer. Various embodiments relate to temporarily changing the quantization field of a quantum computer. Various embodiments provide one or more quasi-direct-current (quasi-DC) circuits that produce one or more corresponding magnetic fields that interact with a fixed quantization field to produce a customized quantization field. Various embodiments produce a customized quantization field based on an operation to be performed on the quantum computer. [0007] According to a first aspect, an atomic object confinement apparatus is provided. In an example embodiment, the atomic object confinement apparatus comprises a plurality of electrodes and one or more quasi-direct-current (quasi-DC) circuits. The plurality of electrodes comprise a plurality of radio frequency (RF) rail electrodes arranged to define, at least in part, a periodic array of confinement segments. The plurality of RF rail electrodes are configured such that, when an oscillating voltage signal is applied thereto, the plurality of RF rail electrodes generate a pseudopotential in a form of an array of trapping regions configured to contain at least one atomic object within a respective trapping region of the array of trapping regions. The one or more quasi-direct-current (quasi-DC) circuits are arranged to generate a magnetic field having a selectable magnitude and a selectable direction at one or more locations, wherein the generated magnetic field acts on at least one atomic object within the array of trapping regions. [0008] In an example embodiment, the magnitude and the direction of the generated magnetic field are based on a magnitude and a direction of a current flowing through the one or more quasi-DC circuits. [0009] In an example embodiment, the magnitude and the direction of the generated magnetic field are selected based on an operation to be performed. [0010] In an example embodiment, a relatively lower magnitude of the generated magnetic field is selected as a steady-state magnetic field and a relatively higher magnitude of the generated magnetic field is selected when a logical operation is to be performed within the array of trapping regions. [0011] In an example embodiment, the generated magnet