超表面光镊阵列中单原子的捕获
近日，美国哥伦比亚大学Will, Sebastian团队研究了超表面光镊阵列中单原子的捕获。相关论文于2026年1月14日发表在《自然》杂志上。
光镊阵列已成为量子计算、量子模拟与量子计量学的关键实验平台，能以前所未有的精度操控单个原子与分子。实现此类阵列的规模化拓展已成为该领域的关键挑战。传统光镊阵列通常采用声光偏转器或液晶空间光调制器生成，但受光学分辨率的根本性限制，其阵列规模被约束在约1万个陷阱以内。超表面——这种由数百万亚波长像素构成的平面光子器件——为生成光镊阵列提供了新的可能途径。
研究组通过全息超表面实现的光镊阵列成功俘获了单个锶原子。他们构建了包含超过100个单原子的二维阵列，这些原子能以最小1.5微米的陷阱间距排布成任意几何构型。阵列在陷阱深度、陷阱频率与定位精度方面均展现出高度均匀性，其性能达到或超越了现有技术方案。这一成果得益于采用高折射率材料（富硅氮化硅与二氧化钛）制备的高效全息超表面。通过解析与数值方法分析，研究组发现这些超表面的亚波长像素尺寸特性将使光镊阵列的规模化能力远超现有技术极限。作为验证，研究组成功实现了包含36万个陷阱的光镊阵列演示。这些突破性进展为可扩展中性原子量子技术的实现扫清了关键障碍。
附：英文原文
Title: Trapping of single atoms in metasurface optical tweezer arrays
Author: Holman, Aaron, Xu, Yuan, Sun, Ximo, Wu, Jiahao, Wang, Mingxuan, Zhu, Zezheng, Seo, Bojeong, Yu, Nanfang, Will, Sebastian
Issue&Volume: 2026-01-14
Abstract: Optical tweezer arrays have emerged as a key experimental platform1,2 for quantum computation3,4, quantum simulation5,6 and quantum metrology7,8, enabling unprecedented levels of control over single atoms and molecules. The ability to scale such arrays has become a defining challenge. Typically, optical tweezer arrays are generated using acousto-optic deflectors or liquid-crystal spatial light modulators. Fundamental limitations in optical resolution have constrained array sizes to about 10,000traps9. Metasurfaces10,11, planar photonic devices comprising millions of subwavelength pixels, provide an intriguing alternative for the generation of optical tweezer arrays12. Here we demonstrate the trapping of single strontium atoms in optical tweezer arrays generated via holographic metasurfaces. We realize two-dimensional arrays with more than 100single atoms, arranged in arbitrary geometries with trap spacings as small as 1.5μm. The arrays have a high uniformity in terms of trap depth, trap frequency and positional accuracy, rivalling or surpassing existing approaches. This is enabled by highly efficient holographic metasurfaces fabricated from high-refractive-index materials, silicon-rich silicon nitride and titanium dioxide. Through analytical and numerical methods, we find that the subwavelength pixel sizes of these metasurfaces allow scaling of tweezer arrays far beyond current capabilities. As a demonstration, we realize an optical tweezer array with 360,000traps. These advances overcome a critical barrier to realizing scalable neutral-atom quantum technologies.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09961-5
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09961-5
