Ion trap in a semiconductor chip

The electromagnetic manipulation of isolated atoms has led to many advances in physics, from laser cooling1 and Bose–Einstein condensation of cold gases2 to the precise quantum control of individual atomic ions3. Work on miniaturizing electromagnetic traps to the micrometre scale promises even higher levels of control and reliability4. Compared with ‘chip traps’ for confining neutral atoms5,6,7, ion traps with similar dimensions and power dissipation offer much higher confinement forces and allow unparalleled control at the single-atom level. Moreover, ion microtraps are of great interest in the development of miniature mass-spectrometer arrays8, compact atomic clocks9 and, most notably, large-scale quantum information processors10,11. Here we report the operation of a micrometre-scale ion trap, fabricated on a monolithic chip using semiconductor micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. We confine, laser cool and measure heating of a single 111Cd+ ion in an integrated radiofrequency trap etched from a doped gallium-arsenide heterostructure.