Towards an array of metastable helium-3 atoms in optical tweezers

Metastable helium-3 (3He*) is the lightest atom that can be laser-cooled and optically trapped. The potential utility of 3He* for quantum science with atom arrays lies in its unique combination of very small mass yet relatively large fine and hyperfine splittings, as well as some of the favorable features of alkaline earth(-like) atoms such as divalent structure and optical metastable states. This combination provides fast reconfigurability and tunneling in optical tweezers with robust hyperfine qubits that are compatible with high-fidelity Raman gates and deep Raman sideband cooling. We will describe the prospects of using 3He* for fermionic quantum computing and for encoding quantum information in motional states. We will present our plans for stable qubit encoding, sideband cooling and motional state control, and fluorescence detection in optical tweezers. We will also discuss our experimental progress which includes our vacuum chamber design and our RF discharge to excite helium atoms to the metastable state.