Scalable hyperfine qubit state detection via electron shelving in the 2D5/2 and 2F7/2 manifolds in 171Yb+

Abstract

Qubits encoded in hyperfine states of trapped ions are ideal for quantum computation given their long lifetimes and low sensitivity to magnetic fields, yet they suffer from off-resonant scattering during detection, often limiting their measurement fidelity. In ${}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}$ this is exacerbated by a low fluorescence yield, which leads to a need for complex and expensive hardware, a problematic bottleneck especially when scaling up the number of qubits. We demonstrate a detection routine based on electron shelving to address this issue in ${}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}$ and achieve a $5.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ reduction in single-ion detection error on an avalanche photodiode to $1.8(2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ in a 100 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ detection period and a $4.3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ error reduction on an electron multiplying CCD camera with $7.7(2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ error in 400 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$. We further improve the characterization of a repump transition at 760 nm to enable a more rapid reset of the auxiliary ${}^{2}{F}_{7/2}$ states populated after shelving. Finally, we examine the detection fidelity limit using the long-lived ${}^{2}{F}_{7/2}$ state, achieving further $300\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ and $12\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ reductions in error to $6(7)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ and $6.3(3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ in 1 ms on the respective detectors. While shelving-rate limited in our setup, we suggest various techniques to realize this detection method at speeds compatible with quantum information processing, providing a pathway to ultrahigh-fidelity detection in ${}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}$.