A Trapped Ion Computing Platform with Software-Tailored Architecture for Quantum co-design

A full-stack approach to quantum computing is required in order to fully leverage the field’s capabilities. This requires collaborative design and integration between stack layers, from the algorithms and programming language to the qubit-specific hardware. Our hardware team on the Software-Tailored Architecture for Quantum co-design (STAQ) project focuses on demonstrating quantum advantage on an ion trap platform developed at Duke University. I will discuss progress toward the project’s goal of realizing a 32-qubit, fully-connected quantum computer, based on Yb-171 ions and available to collaborating universities through an easily programmable software interface. The system utilizes a Sandia surface trap with high optical access and is engineered for optomechanical stability, using a low-vibration cryostat [1]. Notable features include a 32-channel AOM allowing parallel implementation of Raman transitions, a stable turnkey laser system enabling precise, long-term frequency stabilization [2], and ARTIQ control infrastructure supported by a DAX scheduling toolkit [3].



[1] J. Kim et al., Quantum 2.0, Paper #QM6A.2 (2020)

[2] T. Chen et al., IEEE TQE 3 (2022)

[3] L. Riesebos et al., IEEE Micro 41.5 (2021)