Integrating cavity arrays with atom arrays for quantum networks

As quantum systems continue to grow in size, limitations on the scalability of a single system necessitates a modular approach towards a network of processors. The central building block of such an architecture is a quantum computational node with a highly efficient light-matter interface capable of distributing entanglement across long-distance fibers. In quantum computation, neutral atom arrays have been a leading platform due to their dynamic reconfigurability, scalability to thousands of qubits, and high fidelity quantum logic gates; however, a comparably scalable optical interface has yet to be demonstrated.

Here, we present a cesium atom array integrated with a millimeter-scale silicon chip hosting over 100 nanophotonic crystal cavities. Even with the presence of the chip, we establish capabilities of traditional atom array setups: loading of atoms into optical tweezers, single atom imaging with a novel background-free technique, and dynamic reconfigurability of the array. We also report on our progress towards achieving atom-cavity coupling at the telecom O-band. Finally, we discuss our recent efforts on the generation of time-bin atom-photon entanglement and the implementation of quantum logic gates.