Trapped-ion quantum computer

<p>A trapped-ion quantum computer is one proposed approach to a large-scale <a href="/facts/Quantum_computer/nbbcgmvq">quantum computer</a>. <a href="/facts/Ions/wrbwhF3z">Ions</a>, or charged atomic particles, can be confined and suspended in free space using <a href="/facts/Electromagnetic_fields/MacraS8y">electromagnetic fields</a>.  <a href="/facts/Qubits/WveeEubw">Qubits</a> are stored in stable electronic states of each ion, and <a href="/facts/Quantum_information/Bl9QIvHj">quantum information</a> can be transferred through the collective quantized motion of the ions in a shared trap (interacting through the <a href="/facts/Coulomb_force/V0lR5NKv">Coulomb force</a>).  <a href="/facts/Lasers/jk6PTvvT">Lasers</a> are applied to induce <a href="/facts/Coupling_(physics)/Pg2Yg0Tz">coupling</a> between the qubit states (for single qubit operations) or coupling between the internal qubit states and the external motional states (for entanglement between qubits).
</p><p>The fundamental operations of a quantum computer have been demonstrated experimentally with the currently highest accuracy in trapped-ion systems. Promising schemes in development to scale the system to arbitrarily large numbers of qubits include transporting ions to spatially distinct locations in an array of <a href="/facts/Ion_traps/L1m5HBMU">ion traps</a>, building large entangled states via photonically connected networks of remotely entangled ion chains, and combinations of these two ideas. This makes the trapped-ion quantum computer system one of the most promising architectures for a scalable, universal quantum computer. As of December 2023, the largest number of particles to be controllably entangled is 32 trapped ions.
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Trapped-ion quantum computer open-in-new

Trapped-ion quantum computer