Laser-cooled trapped ions are among the most pristine and controllable quantum systems. Research performed in Prof. Islam’s group is currently focused on the following:
- Quantum simulation: The QITI laboratory is building a programmable trapped-ion quantum simulator with 171Yb+ qubits, with optical controls at the level of individual ions for studying problems in quantum many-body physics and computation.
- QuantumION: In collaboration with Prof. Crystal Senko’s group and supported by Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT) , we are building QuantumION, a trapped-ion quantum simulator/computer based on a chain of 133Ba+ ions. 133Ba+ is regarded as the ‘Goldilocks qubit’ for their many wonderful properties including long lived metastable states, availability of spin-1/2 hyperfine qubits, and optical transitions in the visible range.
- Quantum simulation algorithms: We research on classical and quantum algorithms to make quantum simulation more efficient, e.g. by using modern machine learning methods. We collaborate with the Perimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Laboratory
Job opportunities
We acknowledge financial support from University of Waterloo, NSERC, Government of Ontario, US ARO, and Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT, CFREF).
Recent News
06 Aug 2021 - Gilbert receives IQC Achievement Award!
Congratulations to Chung-You (Gilbert) Shih , a PhD student in the group for receiving the IQC Achievement Award, 2021! The awards are given to University of Waterloo graduate students working on quantum information at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), based on exceptional achievement in research. Gilbert was recognized for developing an ultra-precise optical addressing system for a trapped-ion quantum simulator.
20 Jul 2021 - Nikhil wins best presenter award at nationwide CAP congress competition!
Congratulations to Nikhil Kotibhaskar , a PhD student in the group for winning the best student presenter award at the annual Congress of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP)! He first won the competition in the Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics category and then went on to win the national competition among all areas of physics. There were about 325 competitors and an 81-member judging team.
Nikhil talked about our research on developing a trapped-ion quantum simulator.
08 Apr 2021 - paper on holographic optical addressing of ions published
Our paper on ultra-precise holographic optical addressing of ions is published in npj Quantum Information! This is an experimental research.
Recent Publications
Fast and high-yield fabrication of axially symmetric ion-trap needle electrodes via two step electrochemical etching
Abstract: Despite the progress in building sophisticated microfabricated ion traps, Paul traps employing needle electrodes retain their significance due to the simplicity of fabrication while producing high-quality systems suitable for quantum information processing, atomic clocks etc. For low noise operations such as minimizing ‘excess micromotion’, needles should be geometrically straight and aligned precisely with respect to each other.
Ion Trap Long-Range XY Model for Quantum State Transfer and Optimal Spatial Search
Abstract: Linear ion trap chains are a promising platform for quantum computation and simulation. The XY model with long-range interactions can be implemented with a single side-band Mølmer-Sørensen scheme, giving interactions that decay as 1/rα , where α parameterises the interaction range. Lower α leads to longer range interactions, allowing faster long-range gate operations for quantum computing.
Limits on atomic qubit control from laser noise
This manuscript presents a numerical analysis of the impact of laser noise on qubit operations. Abstract: Technical noise present in laser systems can limit their ability to perform high fidelity quantum control of atomic qubits. The ultimate fidelity floor for atomic qubits driven with laser radiation is due to spontaneous emission from excited energy levels.
