Fermionic ytterbium tweezer arrays for quantum information processing

Neutral atom tweezer arrays emerged as a prominent platform for quantum computing, quantum simulation and quantum-enhanced metrology. Their scalability and the potential to generate entanglement in a controlled manner are only a couple of the appealing aspects. While the first generation of experiments involved alkali species, recent work with the alkaline-earth and alkaline-earth-like atoms offers an alternative approach, taking advantage of the rich electronic structure the two-valence-electron species have to offer. A promising atomic candidate is the spin-1/2 Yb¹⁷¹ isotope. Its decoupled nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom and the presence of the long-lived excited clock states allow for storage of quantum coherence in the nuclear qubit, while optically manipulating electronic states for lossless state detection. Here, we will report on the progress towards realization of the Rydberg Yb¹⁷¹ optical tweezer arrays. Our platform will incorporate features such as fast, local control of the nuclear qubit and the clock transition, spin-sensitive detection and long-range dipole-dipole interactions accessed through microwave dressing of the Rydberg states, to aid the generation of large and robust entangled states for quantum information processing.