Trapping Ions in a 2-pi Parabolic Mirror

Single trapped ion qubit is an excellent candidate for quantum computation and information due to its low decoherence, ease of control and detection, and ability to couple to a photon, the flying qubit. Efficient coupling between ions and resonant photons is crucial for ion-photon and remote-ion entanglement protocols. We describe the operation of a RF ion trap in which a reflective parabolic surface serves as of the trap's electrodes. This parabolic mirror covers a solid angle of approximately 2 pi around the trapped ion, and allows precise ion placement at the focal point of the parabola. We measured approximately 39{\%} fluorescence collection from a single ion with this mirror. With the advantage of producing a collimated photon beam, we expect to couple the ion fluorescence into a single-mode fiber in a straightforward way.