Laser cooling, state initialization and laser manipulation of a trapped ion

Sammanfattning: One way of realizing a quantum computer is to use an ion trap. The research group Trapped Ion Quantum Technologies at Stockholm university were operating an ion trap with strontium ions. To increase the coherence time they installed a magnetic field shielding. Therefore the experimental setup had to be partially rebuilt. A new 405 nm laser was installed in order to speed up the ionization step of neutral strontium atoms. The characterization of the laser was performed and it showed that the laser could be operated at the required wavelength. The wavelength was characterized with respect to temperature and power. A scan of the 422 nm Doppler cooling laser was also performed and it showed that the Doppler cooling worked as intended. Lastly, Rabi oscillations were performed to see if coherent manipulation of the ion's quantum state worked as intended. This experiment was also successful but it showed some differences between having the magnetic shielding door open or closed which should be investigated further.