A monolithic segmented 3D ion trap fabricated from fused silica by selective laser-induced etching
Abstract
We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a monolithic, segmented, three-dimensional linear Paul ion trap for quantum science applications. The trap is fabricated from a single fused-silica block using selective laser-induced etching (SLE) and is subsequently metallized, forming electrodes isolated by self-shadowing trench structures without the need for layer alignment or external shadow masks. The segmented electrodes allow for shaping of the axial potential, enabling the creation of anharmonic potential wells, such as those required for equidistant ion strings. In addition, they enable shuttling and splitting of ion chains. We discuss key design choices and SLE-imposed constraints on achievable feature sizes, and evaluate electron-beam evaporation and magnetron sputtering as metallization approaches. Across two independent experimental setups, we demonstrate stable trapping and control of linear chains of up to 33 40Ca+ ions, including approximately equally spaced configurations. The measured secular frequencies in both traps agree with boundary-element simulations at the percent level, with residual deviations attributed to stray electric fields in the presence of anharmonic axial potentials, rather than fabrication imperfections. We measure axial micromotion field strengths on the order of 100 V/m along the trap axis, in approximate agreement with simulations. For radial mode frequencies near 2 MHz and an ion-electrode distance of 300 um, we measure heating rates of the order of 10 quanta/s in all but one motional mode, which is elevated by a technical noise source. The presented trap design is thus suitable for a wide range of quantum science applications and demonstrates the viability of SLE for the fabrication of finely segmented, monolithic, three-dimensional ion traps.
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BibTeX
@misc{brucke2026monolithic,
title = {{A monolithic segmented 3D ion trap fabricated from fused silica by selective laser-induced etching}},
author = {Edgar Brucke and Martin Wagener and Moritz Fontboté-Schmidt and Philip Leindecker and Matteo Marinelli and Vlad Negnevitsky and Ilia Sergachev and Grégoire F. M. Tomassi and Paul Venetz and Stephan Welte and Jonathan Home and Daniel Kienzler and Cornelius Hempel},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.01694},
eprint = {2609.01694},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.01694},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A monolithic segmented 3D ion trap fabricated from fused silica by selective laser-induced etching
AU - Edgar Brucke
AU - Martin Wagener
AU - Moritz Fontboté-Schmidt
AU - Philip Leindecker
AU - Matteo Marinelli
AU - Vlad Negnevitsky
AU - Ilia Sergachev
AU - Grégoire F. M. Tomassi
AU - Paul Venetz
AU - Stephan Welte
AU - Jonathan Home
AU - Daniel Kienzler
AU - Cornelius Hempel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.01694
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.01694
AB - We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a monolithic, segmented, three-dimensional linear Paul ion trap for quantum science applications. The trap is fabricated from a single fused-silica block using selective laser-induced etching (SLE) and is subsequently metallized, forming electrodes isolated by self-shadowing trench structures without the need for layer alignment or external shadow masks. The segmented electrodes allow for shaping of the axial potential, enabling the creation of anharmonic potential wells, such as those required for equidistant ion strings. In addition, they enable shuttling and splitting of ion chains. We discuss key design choices and SLE-imposed constraints on achievable feature sizes, and evaluate electron-beam evaporation and magnetron sputtering as metallization approaches. Across two independent experimental setups, we demonstrate stable trapping and control of linear chains of up to 33 ^40Ca^+ ions, including approximately equally spaced configurations. The measured secular frequencies in both traps agree with boundary-element simulations at the percent level, with residual deviations attributed to stray electric fields in the presence of anharmonic axial potentials, rather than fabrication imperfections. We measure axial micromotion field strengths on the order of 100 V/m along the trap axis, in approximate agreement with simulations. For radial mode frequencies near 2 MHz and an ion-electrode distance of 300 um, we measure heating rates of the order of 10 quanta/s in all but one motional mode, which is elevated by a technical noise source. The presented trap design is thus suitable for a wide range of quantum science applications and demonstrates the viability of SLE for the fabrication of finely segmented, monolithic, three-dimensional ion traps.
ER -