Ultrafast and high resolution spatial light modulation for cold atoms

Abstract

Programmable arrays of ultracold atoms are a leading platform for quantum computation and simulation, enabling state-of-the-art implementations of quantum error correction, and analog simulations of Hubbard models that address open problems in condensed matter physics. In these systems, all local control is mediated through precisely shaped optical fields, and so the challenge of managing many-body quantum states becomes an exercise in optical design. In particular, one wishes for fast, flexible control with low disorder and heating, and access to large arrays with many atoms. An ideal optical system therefore must generate arbitrary patterns with high spatial resolution and low disorder, and alter these patterns on a timescale that is faster than the relevant atomic dynamics. Here, we present an optical system that is comparable to previous approaches in scale, while advancing all other axes. We demonstrate arbitrary pattern generation with $10^{-3}$ intensity resolution, a frame rate of $>84$ MFPS (megaframes per second), and a spatial resolution of $83 \times 52$