Quantum Information Processing with Atom Chips

Atom chips combine many important features of a scalable architecture for quantum information processing (QIP): (1) the exquisite coherence properties of neutral atoms; (2) accurate control of the coherent evolution of the atoms in tailored micropotentials; (3) scalability of the technology through microfabrication, which allows the integration of many qubits in parallel on the same device while maintaining individual addressability; (4) interfaces to photons as flying qubits provided by on‐chip optical cavities; and (5) the exciting perspective of interfacing quantum optical qubits with solid‐state systems for QIP located on the chip surface. In this respect, the unique features of atom chips such as trap miniaturization and integration are powerful concepts from which many different systems can benefit, as the current efforts to miniaturize ion traps, initiated by the success of neutral atom chip traps, show.