Coherent Transport of Atomic Quantum States in a Scalable Shift Register

Abstract

We demonstrate the coherent transport of two-dimensional (2D) arrays of small ensembles of neutral atoms in a shift register architecture based on 2D arrays of microlenses. We show the scalability of the transport process by presenting the repeated hand-over of atoms from site to site. We prove the conservation of coherence during transport, reloading, and a full shift register cycle. This shows that the fundamental shift sequence can be cascaded and thus scaled to complex and versatile 2D architectures for atom-based quantum information processing, quantum simulation, and the investigation of quantum degenerate gases.