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Ultrasensitive detection of force and displacement using trapped ions

Nature Nanotechnology volume 5, pages 646–650 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

The ability to detect extremely small forces and nanoscale displacements is vital for disciplines such as precision spin-resonance imaging1, microscopy2, and tests of fundamental physical phenomena3,4,5. Current force-detection sensitivity limits have surpassed 1 aN Hz−1/2 (refs 6,7) through coupling of nanomechanical resonators to a variety of physical readout systems1,7,8,9,10. Here, we demonstrate that crystals of trapped atomic ions11,12 behave as nanoscale mechanical oscillators and may form the core of exquisitely sensitive force and displacement detectors. We report the detection of forces with a sensitivity of 390 ± 150 yN Hz−1/2, which is more than three orders of magnitude better than existing reports using nanofabricated devices7, and discriminate ion displacements of ∼18 nm. Our technique is based on the excitation of tunable normal motional modes in an ion trap13 and detection through phase-coherent Doppler velocimetry14,15, and should ultimately allow force detection with a sensitivity better than 1 yN Hz−1/2 (ref. 16). Trapped-ion-based sensors could enable scientists to explore new regimes in materials science where augmented force, field and displacement sensitivity may be traded against reduced spatial resolution.

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Figure 1: Phase-coherent Doppler velocimetry.
Figure 2: Phase-coherent detection of the COM mode by RF excitation, where Fd(ion) = F0(ion).
Figure 3: Calibration of force-detection sensitivity by Fourier analysis.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank K. Lehnert, D. Leibfried, D.J. Reilly, T. Rosenband and D.J. Wineland for useful discussions. Thanks also go to J. Kitching and U. Warring for their comments on the manuscript. The authors acknowledge research funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the DARPA Optical Lattice Emulator program, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Quantum Information Program. M.J.B. acknowledges fellowship support from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity and Georgia Tech. H.U. acknowledges support from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Relations, South Africa. This manuscript is a contribution of NIST and not subject to US copyright.

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  1. Michael J. Biercuk & Hermann Uys

    Present address: Present address: School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia (M.J.B.); Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa, (H.U.),

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NIST Time and Frequency Division, Boulder, 80305, Colorado, USA

    Michael J. Biercuk, Hermann Uys, Joe W. Britton, Aaron P. VanDevender & John J. Bollinger

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  1. Michael J. Biercuk
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Contributions

M.J.B., H.U. and J.J.B. conceived, designed and performed the experiments and co-wrote the manuscript. J.W.B. contributed to experimental measurements and data analysis. A.P.VD. assisted with optics hardware and the hardware–software interface.

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Correspondence to Michael J. Biercuk or John J. Bollinger.

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Biercuk, M., Uys, H., Britton, J. et al. Ultrasensitive detection of force and displacement using trapped ions. Nature Nanotech 5, 646–650 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2010.165

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