Nanoscale paul trapping of a single electron.

Abstract

We demonstrate that a Paul trap made up of four conducting nanotubes is capable of trapping a single electron. In addition to the size, the major differences between such a nano-trap and its macroscopic analogue are that the electron is treated as a quantum object and that its effect ("back reaction") on the trapping device cannot be ignored. We computationally demonstrate focusing and trapping of an electronic wave packet, while fully accounting for the image charges induced by the electron on the nanotubes. The electron image charge interaction significantly affects the electron dynamics, and thus the trap stability. An (entangled) set of trapped electrons offers a number of advantages for quantum information processing.