Design and Characterization of MEMS Micromirrors for Ion Trap Quantum Computation

Quantum computation provides non-trivial advantages over classical computation, by enabling fundamentally more efficient algorithms for important problems like factoring and database search. Free space Gaussian beams controlled by MEMS micromirrors were proposed as a means to precisely address the ions on a chip. Here, we investigate the design space of such elements based on an existing ion-trap experimental setup and characterize their performance. This design approach can be readily adapted to meet the requirements for a variety of other trapped ion or neutral atom experiments