Daniel Slichter (Fed)

I am a staff physicist in the Ion Storage Group at NIST Boulder. My research focuses on quantum information experiments with trapped atomic ions, with an emphasis on developing new paradigms for scalable trapped ion quantum computing and performing high-fidelity control and measurement of quantum states. Recent projects include performing high-fidelity two-ion entangling operations with microwave and rf fields instead of lasers, achieving entangled state fidelities rivaling those from best laser-based gates; using strong unitary squeezing of ion motion to enhance ion-ion interactions and to perform electric field sensing below the standard quantum limit; and integrating superconducting photon detectors into microfabricated ion traps (made in the world-class NIST Boulder Microfabrication Facility, in collaboration with the NIST Faint Photonics Group) as an initial step in building a fully chip-integrated trapped ion quantum processor. In my previous research life, I worked in superconducting quantum information, where I performed the first continuous high-fidelity measurement of a superconducting qubit, and studied quantum feedback, measurement backaction, and near-quantum-limited parametric amplification.

The research in our group is carried out by an international team of staff scientists, postdocs, and graduate students. We are always looking for bright, motivated people to join us. Please contact me to discuss opportunities. Please note that I work closely with Dietrich Leibfried, Andrew Wilson, and Lindsay Sonderhouse, so it is sufficient to contact one of us, or as a group, rather than emailing us all individually.

A complete up-to-date listing of my publications is available on Google Scholar or the arXiv.  You can also find PDFs via the Ion Storage Group Publications page.

Selected Recent Publications

• Pan-Yu Hou, Jenny J. Wu, Stephen D. Erickson, Daniel C. Cole, Giorgio Zarantonello, Adam D. Brandt, Andrew C. Wilson, Daniel H. Slichter, and Dietrich Leibfried. “Coherently Coupled Mechanical Oscillators in the Quantum Regime.” Nature Physics 20, 1636 (2024). PDF and journal link
• S. C. Burd, H. M. Knaack, R. Srinivas, C. Arenz, A. L. Collopy, L. J. Stephenson, A. C. Wilson, D. J. Wineland, D. Leibfried, J. J. Bollinger, D. T. C. Allcock, and D. H. Slichter. “Experimental speedup of quantum dynamics through squeezing.” Physical Review X Quantum 5, 020314 (2024). PDF and journal link
• Benedikt Hampel, Daniel H. Slichter, Dietrich Leibfried, Richard P. Mirin, Sae Woo Nam, and Varun B. Verma. “Trap-Integrated Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors with Improved RF Tolerance for Trapped-Ion Qubit State Readout.” Applied Physics Letters 122, 174001 (2023). PDF and journal link
• R. Srinivas, S. C. Burd, H. M. Knaack, R. T. Sutherland, A. Kwiatkowski, S. Glancy, E. Knill, D. J. Wineland, D. Leibfried, A. C. Wilson, D. T. C. Allcock, and D. H. Slichter. “High-fidelity laser-free universal control of trapped-ion qubits.” Nature 597, 209 (2021). PDF Journal
• S. C. Burd, R. Srinivas, H. M. Knaack, W. Ge, A. C. Wilson, D. J. Wineland, D. Leibfried, J. J. Bollinger, D. T. C. Allcock, and D. H. Slichter.  “Quantum amplification of boson-mediated interactions.” Nature Physics 17, 898 (2021). PDF Journal
• S. L. Todaro, V. B. Verma, K. C. McCormick, D. T. C. Allcock, R. P. Mirin, D. J. Wineland, S. W. Nam, A. C. Wilson, D. Leibfried, and D. H. Slichter. “State Readout of a Trapped Ion Qubit Using a Trap-Integrated Superconducting Photon Detector.” Physical Review Letters 126, 010501 (2021). PDF Journal
• J. C. Bardin, D. H. Slichter, and D. J. Reilly.  “Microwaves in Quantum Computing.” IEEE Journal of Microwaves 1, 403 (2021). PDF Journal
• S. C. Burd, R. Srinivas, J. J. Bollinger, A. C. Wilson, D. J. Wineland, D. Leibfried, D. H. Slichter, and D. T. C. Allcock, “Quantum amplification of mechanical oscillator motion.” Science 364, 1163 (2019). PDF Journal

• NIST Bronze Medal, 2024
• NIST Jacob Rabinow Applied Research Award, 2022
• IEEE Senior Member, 2020
• Kavli Fellow, 2016
• NRC Postdoctoral Fellow, 2012 - 2014
• Hertz Foundation Thesis Prize, 2012
• Hertz Foundation Fellowship, 2006 - 2011