Scalable surface ion trap design for magnetic quantum sensing and gradiometry

Quantum Physics [Submitted on 23 Apr 2026] Scalable surface ion trap design for magnetic quantum sensing and gradiometry Qirat Iqbal, Altaf Hussain Nizamani Magnetic quantum sensors based on trapped ions utilize properties of quantum mechanics which have optimized precision and beat current limits in sensor technology. Trapped ions are highly sensitive in a large span of signal ranging from DC or static B-field to the radiofrequency range in 100s of MHz and can attain the sensitivity in the range of pT to sub pT . They are tuneable to frequencies of interest and can be used as a lock-in frequency detector. This modelling and simulation based study presents an innovative design of Surface Paul Traps, enabling the use of trapped ions as ultra-sensitive sensors for magnetic field detection and precise measurement of magnetic field gradients at a sub-millimeter spatial resolution. The novel design features multiple trapping regions, allowing for the mapping of magnetic fields across various ion-trapping zones. The study demonstrates groundbreaking advancements in ion manipulation and confinement through innovative chip architecture. Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Atomic and Molecular Clusters (physics.atm-clus) Cite as: arXiv:2604.21342 [quant-ph]   (or arXiv:2604.21342v1 [quant-ph] for this version)   https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.21342 Focus to learn more Journal reference: Volume 19, May 2024, 100208 Related DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physo.2024.100208 Focus to learn more Submission history From: Altaf Nizamani [view email] [v1] Thu, 23 Apr 2026 06:57:23 UTC (2,213 KB) Access Paper: view license Current browse context: quant-ph < prev   |   next > new | recent | 2026-04 Change to browse by: physics physics.atm-clus References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar Export BibTeX Citation Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Demos Related Papers About arXivLabs Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)