EDS Seminar: Karan Mehta: Integrated optical control of atomic quantum systems

Description

Cornell Electron Devices Society (EDS) presents:

Karan Mehta
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Cornell University

Integrated optical control of atomic quantum systems

Abstract
Practical quantum information processing (QIP) requires significant advances over current systems in error and robustness of basic operations, and in scale. The fundamental qualities of trapped atomic ion qubits are promising for long-term systems, and have enabled leading systems in both academic and commercial efforts today. The optics required have however presented a central challenge in scaling. Interfacing low-noise atomic qubits with scalable integrated photonics [1] has emerged as a promising route forward, enabling practical extensibility while simultaneously lending robustness to noise. After a brief introduction to trapped-ion QIP, I will discuss recent experiments utilizing ion trap devices with integrated waveguide optical delivery, demonstrating methods that facilitate scaling while simultaneously reducing key sources of error in sensitive quantum logic operations [2]. I will focus particularly on novel possibilities for basic quantum operations enabled by structured light profiles practically delivered with such approaches; opportunities and challenges in photonics posed by applications in atomic systems [3]; and possibilities at this interface to advance future experiments in areas including sensing and precision metrology.

Bio 
Karan Mehta received BS. Degrees from UCLA in Physics and Electrical Engineering in 2010, and completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT in 2017, with the support of a DOE Science Graduate Fellowship. From 2017 to 2021 he was an ETH Postdoctoral Fellow, and subsequently senior scientist, in the Physics department at ETH Zurich. He joined Cornell ECE in January of 2022 where he leads the Photonics and Quantum Electronics group.