Single Sr Atoms in Optical Tweezer Arrays for Quantum Simulation

Abstract

We report on the realization of a platform for trapping and manipulating individual $^{88}$Sr atoms in optical tweezers. A first cooling stage based on a blue shielded magneto-optical trap (MOT) operating on the $^1S_0$ -> $^1P_1$ transition at 461 nm enables us to trap approximately $4\times 10^6$ atoms at a temperature of 6.8 mK. Further cooling is achieved in a narrow-line red MOT using the $^1S_0$ -> $^3P_1$ intercombination transition at 689 nm, bringing $4\times 10^5$ atoms down to 5 $\mu$K and reaching a density of $\approx 10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$. Atoms are then loaded into 813 nm tweezer arrays generated by crossed acousto-optic deflectors and tightly focused onto the atoms with a high-numerical-aperture objective. Through light-assisted collision processes we achieve the collisional blockade, which leads to single-atom occupancy with a probability of about $50\%$. The trapped atoms are detected via fluorescence imaging with a fidelity of $99.986(6)\%$, while maintaining a survival probability of $97(2)\%$. The release-and-recapture measurement provides a temperature of $12.92(5)$ $\mu$K for the atoms in the tweezers, and the ultra-high-vacuum environment ensures a vacuum lifetime higher than 7 min. These results demonstrate a robust alkaline-earth tweezer platform that combines efficient loading, cooling, and high-fidelity detection, providing the essential building blocks for scalable quantum simulation and quantum information processing with Sr atoms.