Reducing Ion Heating in Quantum Computing: A Novel 3D-Printed Micro Ion Trap with Skeleton Structure

Abstract

Electric-field-induced ion heating is a major obstacle in scalable trapped-ion quantum computing. We present a theoretical study of a novel 3D-printed ion trap with a skeleton electrode structure, designed to reduce heating by minimizing surface area near the ion. Compared to a conventional blade trap with identical confinement parameters, the skeleton trap achieves over 50% reduction in total heating rate. Patch-by-patch analysis reveals that heating is dominated by surfaces within 500 μm of the ion. For axial motion, the peak heating occurs approximately 110 μm away due to electric field directionality. We demonstrate that minor geometric optimization, in which the electrode gaps are realigned with these hotspots, can further suppress heating despite the associated increase in surface area. A linear relationship between ion-to-electrode distance and peak heating location is also established. These results highlight the potential of 3D-printed electrode designs for achieving both strong confinement and reduced noise in future quantum systems.