The experimental setup of the ETH researchers. The trap chip is located inside the container underneath the silver cupola, in which a lens captures the light emitted by the trapped ions. Credit: ETH ...

Electrical engineer Ray Haltli optimizes parameters before placing gold wire bonds on an ion trap. When ready, the machine runs automatically, placing up to seven wires per second. (Photo by Craig ...

Conceptual illustration (left) and physical mockup (right, at OIST) of Qubitcore’s distributed ion-trap quantum computer, visualizing quantum entanglement via optical fiber links between traps.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has produced its first lot of a new world-class ion trap, a central component for certain quantum computers. The new device, dubbed the Enchilada Trap, ...

The energy states of electrons in an atom follow the laws of quantum mechanics: they are not continuously distributed but restricted to certain well- defined values – this is also called quantisation.

Researchers at ETH have managed to trap ions using static electric and magnetic fields and to perform quantum operations on them. In the future, such traps could be used to realize quantum computers ...