English

Dark-state enhanced loading of an optical tweezer array

Atomic Physics 2023-05-31 v1 Quantum Physics

Abstract

Neutral atoms and molecules trapped in optical tweezers have become a prevalent resource for quantum simulation, computation, and metrology. However, the maximum achievable system sizes of such arrays are often limited by the stochastic nature of loading into optical tweezers, with a typical loading probability of only 50%. Here we present a species-agnostic method for dark-state enhanced loading (DSEL) based on real-time feedback, long-lived shelving states, and iterated array reloading. We demonstrate this technique with a 95-tweezer array of 88^{88}Sr atoms, achieving a maximum loading probability of 84.02(4)% and a maximum array size of 91 atoms in one dimension. Our protocol is complementary to, and compatible with, existing schemes for enhanced loading based on direct control over light-assisted collisions, and we predict it can enable close-to-unity filling for arrays of atoms or molecules.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2302.10855,
  title  = {Dark-state enhanced loading of an optical tweezer array},
  author = {Adam L. Shaw and Pascal Scholl and Ran Finklestein and Ivaylo S. Madjarov and Brandon Grinkemeyer and Manuel Endres},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2302.10855},
  year   = {2023}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T08:45:51.400Z