Electrodynamically trapped Yb+ ions for quantum information processing

Highly efficient, nearly deterministic, and isotope selective generation of Yb+ ions by one- and two-color photoionization is demonstrated. State preparation and state selective detection of hyperfine states in Yb-171(+) is investigated in order to optimize the purity of the prepared state and to time-optimize the detection process. Linear laser-cooled Yb+ ion crystals confined in a Paul trap are demonstrated. Advantageous features of different previous ion trap experiments are combined, while at the same time the number of possible error sources is reduced by using a comparatively simple experimental apparatus. This opens a new path toward quantum state manipulation of individual trapped ions, and in particular, to scalable quantum computing.