Ytterbium-171 qubit

Definition:
A Ytterbium-171 qubit is a type of quantum bit implemented using the isotope Ytterbium-171, valued for its long coherence times, high-fidelity gate operations, and robust nuclear spin properties. It is a leading candidate in the development of scalable quantum computing platforms based on neutral atoms.

Scientific context:
Ytterbium-171 (¹⁷¹Yb) offers several features that make it suitable for quantum information encoding:

• It has a ground state with zero electronic angular momentum, reducing sensitivity to magnetic and electric noise.

• Its nuclear spin qubits are highly coherent, enabling longer quantum state preservation.

• It exhibits narrow optical transitions, beneficial for laser cooling and trapping via optical tweezers.

• Its electron configuration (Xe 4f¹⁴ 6s²) supports strong hyperfine-to-optical coupling.

Researchers use arrays of trapped Yb-171 atoms to build scalable qubit architectures, leveraging optical lattices and Rydberg-mediated interactions for entanglement and logic operations. Measurement advancements now allow non-destructive readout of qubit states, preserving the nuclear spin even after multiple detections.

Example in practice:
In recent experiments scientists achieved repetitive readout and real-time control of ¹⁷¹Yb nuclear spin qubits with over 99% fidelity, opening new paths for quantum error correction and feedback-based quantum computing.

Did you know?
Because Ytterbium-171’s ground state has no electronic angular momentum, it enables quantum non-demolition measurements, a rare capability that allows the quantum state to be read without collapsing it.

Learn more about it here.