Efficient fluorescence collection from trapped ions with an integrated spherical mirror
Gang Shu, Nathan Kurz, Matthew J. Dietrich, B. B. Blinov · Physical Review A · 2010
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 percent of the 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 a 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.