A robust strontium tweezer apparatus for quantum computing

Neutral atoms for quantum computing applications show promise in terms of scalability and connectivity. We demonstrate the realization of a versatile apparatus capable of stochastically loading a 5 × 5 array of optical tweezers with single 88Sr atoms featuring flexible magnetic field control and excellent optical access. A custom-designed oven, spin–flip Zeeman slower, and deflection stage produce a controlled flux of Sr directed to the science chamber. In the science chamber, featuring a vacuum pressure of 3 × 10−11 mbar, the Sr is cooled using two laser cooling stages, resulting in ∼3×105 atoms at a temperature of 5(1) μK. The optical tweezers feature a 1/e2 waist of 0.81(2) μm, and loaded atoms can be imaged with a fidelity of ∼0.997 and a survival probability of 0.99−0.02+0.01. The atomic array presented here forms the core of a full-stack quantum computing processor targeted for quantum chemistry computational problems.