Improving quantum gate infidelity in trapped ion quantum computers

An ion trap quantum computing system, comprising:

• a quantum processor comprising an ion chain including a plurality of trapped ions, each trapped ion having two hyperfine states;
• one or more lasers configured to emit a first Raman laser beam and a second Raman laser beam, which is provided to the ion chain in the quantum processor;
• a classical computer configured to perform operations comprising:
• identifying one or more error mechanisms that cause a quantum computational error in a quantum gate operation on a first trapped ion of the ion chain, wherein the quantum gate operation is performed by applying the first Raman laser beam and the second Raman laser beam that are configured to cause a Raman transition in the first trapped ion in the ion chain and a coupling between the first trapped ion and one or more axial motional modes of the ion chain;
• and
• computing a first amplitude of the first Raman laser beam, and a second amplitude of the second Raman laser beam such that the effect of the identified one or more error mechanisms is accounted for;
• and
• a system controller configured to execute a control program to control the one or more lasers to perform operations on the quantum processor, the operations comprising:
• applying the first Raman laser beam having the computed first amplitude and the second Raman laser beam having the computed second amplitude on the first trapped ion to perform the quantum gate operation on the first trapped ion;
• and
• measuring population of qubit states in the quantum processor,
• wherein the classical computer is further configured to output the measured population of qubit states in the quantum processor.

An ion trap quantum computing system, comprising:

• a classical computer;
• a quantum processor comprising an ion chain including a plurality of trapped ions, each trapped ion having two hyperfine states;
• a system controller configured to execute a control program to control the one or more lasers configured to emit a first Raman laser beam and a second Raman laser beam, which is provided to the ion chain in the quantum processor;
• and
• non-volatile memory having a number of instructions stored therein which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the ion trap quantum computing system to perform operations comprising:
• identifying, by the classical computer, one or more error mechanisms that cause a quantum computational error in a quantum gate operation on a first trapped ion of the ion chain, wherein the quantum gate operation is performed by applying the first Raman laser beam and the second Raman laser beam that are configured to cause a Raman transition in the first trapped ion in the ion chain and a coupling between the first trapped ion and one or more axial motional modes of the ion chain;
• computing, by the classical computer, a first amplitude of the first Raman laser beam, and a second amplitude of the second Raman laser beam such that the effect of the identified one or more error mechanisms is accounted for;
• applying, by the system controller, the first Raman laser beam having the computed first amplitude and the second Raman laser beam having the computed second amplitude on the first trapped ion to perform the quantum gate operation on the first trapped ion;
• measuring, by the system controller, population of qubit states in the quantum processor;
• and
• outputting, by the classical computer, the measured population of qubit states in the quantum processor.