The design and understanding of optical systems is critically important to achieving fault-tolerant performance in ion traps. The arrangment of ion trap structures must be compatible with laser beams, and error budgets must account for the tolerances on the laser beams and the decohering effects of scattered light in the system.

Scattering Analysis

Example:

• A 10 µm tall obstacle placed on the surface of the ion trap.
• The beam height is 40 µm
• The wavelength is 0.397 µm
• The waist is 33 µm
• The trap is 9 mm across