Suitably designed VECSELs (vertical external cavity surface emitting lasers) bring improved laser solutions for quantum information processing with trapped beryllium ions. Lasers enable manipulating and monitoring the quantum state of trapped ions for information processing. They also enable producing ions by photo-ionization of their neutral atom counterparts. This all requires the laser wavelength to be tuned at, or close to, specific ionic or atomic energy transitions. Beryllium ions are of special interest because of their advantages compared with heavier ions, such as their potential for operation at reduced power. Yet, producing or manipulating them requires sufficiently powerful lasers, emitting in particular around the ultraviolet wavelengths of 235 and 313 nm, respectively. To bring improved solutions for these applications, the authors of this work have fabricated suitably designed continuous-wave VECSELs emitting watt-level wavelength-tunable near-infrared light with a near-100 kHz linewidth. This light is externally frequency-quadrupled to achieve the required ultraviolet wavelengths with powers of several tens of mW. After a detailed description of the lasers, proof of concept of their use for beryllium ion production and manipulation is reported. These VECSELs, in which the mirrors are spaced by 12.5 cm, enable improved size, weight, power and cost compared with other solutions, such as those based on titanium-sapphire lasers.

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