Abstract

Arrays of refractive microlenses, with diameters on the order of hundreds of micrometres, have been the subject of much research in the applied physics community [1]. Recently, arrays of optical dipole traps, with 50 µm separation, each containing on the order of 100 laser cooled atoms, have been created [2]. This state-of-the-art experiment, combining microfabrication and atom physics, has been proposed as the basis for a quantum simulator. Refractive microscopic elements are constrained by certain limitations that will hinder their development to smaller scales. They are susceptible to chromatic aberration and form relatively weak optical dipole traps due to their limited numerical aperture (NA). Furthermore, as length scales are typically ‘large’ at around 100 µm [3] interactions between specific trapping sites, integral to the operation of any multiple-qubit quantum gates, are effectively prohibited unless additional, translatable potentials are introduced.

© 2009 IEEE