Efficient fluorescence collection from trapped ions with an integrated spherical mirror
quant-ph
/ Authors
/ Abstract
Efficient collection of fluorescence from trapped ions is crucial for quantum optics and quantum computing applications, specifically, for qubit state detection and in generating single photons for ion-photon and remote ion entanglement. In a typical setup, only a few per cent of ion fluorescence is intercepted by the aperture of the imaging optics. We employ a simple metallic spherical mirror integrated with a linear Paul ion trap to achieve photon collection efficiency of at least 10% from a single Ba$^+$ ion. An aspheric corrector is used to reduce the aberrations caused by the mirror and achieve high image quality.