Advanced Thin Films, Inc.

Experiments that investigate the decoherence of superpositions of motional states of trapped ions are described.Decoherence is characterized by the loss of contrast in Ramsey-type interferometer experiments involving superpositions of two motional coherent states or two motional Fock states that are subject to stochastically fluctuating elec. fields.

A review.Optical contacting is a room-temperature bonding process that results in an epoxy-free precision bond.The process results in optical paths that are 100% optically transparent with negligible scattering and absorptive losses at the interfaces.Current variations on traditional optical contacting can create precise, optically transparent bonds that are robust and mech. strong.Nearly all improved optical contacting processes use a variation of wafer bonding - analogous to a similar process in the semiconductor industry.These processes use an extra step to create covalent bonds across the interface, forming a bond that is significantly stronger than that formed from traditional optical contacting.