Dual-species, multi-qubit logic primitives for Ca+/Sr+ trapped-ion crystals

Abstract

We demonstrate key multi-qubit quantum-logic primitives in a dual-species trapped-ion system based on 40Ca+ and 88Sr+ ions, using two optical qubits with quantum-logic-control frequencies in the red to near-infrared range. With all ionization, cooling, and control wavelengths in a wavelength band similar for the two species and centered in the visible, and with a favorable mass ratio for sympathetic cooling, this pair is a promising candidate for scalable quantum information processing. Same-species and dual-species two-qubit gates, based on the Mølmer–Sørensen interaction and performed in a cryogenic surface-electrode trap, are characterized via the fidelity of generated entangled states; we achieve fidelities of 98.8(2)% and 97.5(2)% in Ca+–Ca+ and Sr+–Sr+ gates, respectively. For a similar Ca+–Sr+ gate, we achieve a fidelity of 94.3(3)%, and carrying out a Sr+–Sr+ gate performed with a Ca+ sympathetic cooling ion in a Sr+–Ca+–Sr+ crystal configuration, we achieve a fidelity of 95.7(3)%. These primitives form a set of trapped-ion capabilities for logic with sympathetic cooling and ancilla readout or state transfer for general quantum computing and communication applications.