Brazil Builds Its First Cold-Ion Trap for Quantum Computing

Researchers at the University of São Paulo’s São Carlos Institute of Physics built Brazil’s first cold-ion trap intended as a quantum-computing platform. The Brazil-made Paul trap confines laser-ionized strontium in an ultra-high-vacuum chamber using an electric field oscillating at about 18 megahertz, allowing the team to control individual ions or chains spaced a few micrometers apart. Project leader Amilson Rogelso Fritsch said the observed points are real ions, not a graphical representation. The team plans to manipulate the ions as qubits and attempt early quantum-processing operations, but said no peer-reviewed paper has yet been published.