Guidelines for Designing Surface Ion Traps Using the Boundary Element Method

Ion traps can provide both physical implementation of quantum information processing and direct observation of quantum systems. Recently, surface ion traps have been developed using microfabrication technologies and are considered to be a promising platform for scalable quantum devices. This paper presents detailed guidelines for designing the electrodes of surface ion traps. First, we define and explain the key specifications including trap depth, q-parameter, secular frequency, and ion height. Then, we present a numerical-simulation-based design procedure, which involves determining the basic assumptions, determining the shape and size of the chip, designing the dimensions of the radio frequency (RF) electrode, and analyzing the direct current (DC) control voltages. As an example of this design procedure, we present a case study with tutorial-like explanations. The proposed design procedure can provide a practical guideline for designing the electrodes of surface ion traps.