First 3D-printed ion traps hit 98% fidelity in quantum operations

Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Barbara, have developed miniaturized quadrupole ion traps using high-resolution 3D printing, achieving quantum gate fidelities as high as 98%. These 3D-printed ion traps combine the stability advantages of traditional bulky 3D traps with the scalability of planar traps, overcoming a longstanding tradeoff in quantum computing hardware. The traps confine calcium ions at competitive frequencies and error rates, enabling stable ion manipulation, including two-ion position exchanges lasting minutes and high-fidelity two-qubit entangling gates. The use of ultrahigh-resolution two-photon polymerization printing allows rapid prototyping—printing full traps in about 14 hours or just electrodes in 30 minutes—significantly accelerating design iterations and enabling complex hybrid planar-3D geometries. This expanded design flexibility opens new avenues for optimizing and miniaturizing ion traps. The team plans to further