A micro-optical module for multi-wavelength addressing of trapped ions

The control of large-scale quantum information processors based on arrays of trapped ions requires a means to route and focus multiple laser beams to each of many trapping sites in parallel. Here, we combine arrays of fibres, 3D laser-written waveguides and diffractive microlenses to demonstrate the principle of a micro-optic interconnect suited to this task. The module is intended for use with an ion microtrap of 3D electrode geometry. It guides ten independent laser beams with unique trajectories to illuminate a pair of spatially separated target points. Three blue and two infrared beams converge to overlap precisely at each desired position. Typical relative crosstalk intensities in the blue are 3.6 x 10^-3 and the average insertion loss across all channels is 8 dB. The module occupies ~10⁴ times less volume than a conventional bulk-optic equivalent and is suited to different ion species.