Characterization of Fluorescence Collection Optics Integrated with a Microfabricated Surface Electrode Ion Trap

Future quantum computing devices are expected to rely on the detection of multiple individual trapped ions. In recent work, scientists have used a fiber-optic coupled array of diffraction lenses to discriminate the fluorescence of individual Ca⁺ ions. Their array is scaleable and achieves efficiencies of nearly 0.4% at detection times of under 200 microseconds.