• Physics 18, 148
To demonstrate a new system for quickly relocating thousands of atoms, researchers created an animation featuring Schrödinger's famous cat.
One potential type of quantum computer is based on atoms held in one or more 2D arrays of optical traps. Each atom constitutes a qubit, and the calculation involves moving many of these atoms in the array. Such atomic rearrangement can be slow as it requires shuffling inside and outside the array site, such as the complex game of Chinese checkers.
China's University of Science and Technology and colleagues Chao-yang Lu and Jian-Wei Pan are currently using artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a system that allows thousands of atoms to move into any selected arrangement [1]. Relocation takes just 60 ms, regardless of the number of atoms. This is a speed record that is partly due to AI, and is faster than traditional calculations for this task. In the setup, AI is involved in programming spatial light modulators, a device that uses optical tweezers to move atoms along optimal paths.
To show off the new system, the team created a cartoon video explaining the Schrödinger-Cat thought experiment. The researchers imaged their locations by using up to 549 atoms in a 230 x 230 µm array and detecting the fluorescence of the atoms in response to laser pulses. This video is a delayed version of the atomic relocation.
– David Ehrenstein
David Ehrenstein is a senior editor Physics magazine.
reference
- R. Lin et al.“AI-enabled parallel assembly of neutral atom arrays without thousands of defects” Phys. Pastor Rett 135060602 (2025).
