Continuous-relief diffractive microlenses for laser beam focusing.

Microscale, continuous-profile, diffractive lenses have been fabricated and characterized. Lenses designed to operate at λ = 405 nm were created by focused ion beam milling of a glass substrate. The micro-structured profile was analysed by confocal microscopy and optical performance was quantified by measurements of the transmitted laser beam profile.

Accurate and agile digital control of optical phase, amplitude and frequency for coherent atomic manipulation of atomic systems.

We demonstrate a system for fast and agile digital control of laser phase, amplitude and frequency for applications in coherent atomic systems. The full versatility of a direct digital synthesis radiofrequency source is faithfully transferred to laser radiation via acousto-optic modulation. Optical beatnotes are used to measure phase steps up to 2π, which are accurately implemented with a resolution of ≤ 10 mrad.

A monolithic array of three-dimensional ion traps fabricated with conventional semiconductor technology.

The coherent control of quantum-entangled states of trapped ions has led to significant advances in quantum information, quantum simulation, quantum metrology and laboratory tests of quantum mechanics and relativity. All of the basic requirements for processing quantum information with arrays of ion-based quantum bits (qubits) have been proven in principle. However, so far, no more than 14 ion-based qubits have been entangled with the ion-trap approach, so there is a clear need for arrays of ion traps that can handle a much larger number of qubits.