Detection and Quantum Control of Molecular States via Electric-field Gradients Generated by a Cryogenic Ion Trap

Molecular ions possess a myriad of electric dipole transitions, many of which exist in the microwave and RF regime. These transitions allow for strong, laser-free coupling between long-lived energy states, making them favorable quantum logic candidates. Previously described in (PhysRevA. 2021, 104, 042605), applying an oscillating voltage to a linear ion trap will produce an electric gradient to address these splittings, allowing for the application of electric-field gradient gates (EGGs). Presented is a description of our cryogenic dual species ion trap employing co-trapped HCl⁺ and Ca⁺ in addition to the current progress towards using EGGs to perform hyper-fine spectroscopy of the ground lambda-doublet states of HCl⁺.