#  Continuously Operating Atom Array 

 



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Neutral atoms are a promising platform for quantum science, enabling advances in areas ranging from quantum simulations and computation to metrology, atomic clocks and quantum networking. Because atoms can only be held in optical tweezers for a finite time — due to infidelities in quantum gate operations and collisions with background molecules in an imperfect vacuum — these systems are typically operated in a pulsed mode. In our laboratory, we remove this bottleneck by continuously reloading fresh atoms into the system, enabling deep-circuit quantum evolution and quantum error correction in future experiments.  
In our first publication, we present our atom-reloading architecture that enables high qubit reloading rates and continuous operation of a large-scale atom-array system while preserving coherent storage and manipulation of quantum information. Our approach utilizes a series of two optical lattice conveyor belts to transport atom reservoirs into the science region, where atoms are repeatedly extracted into optical tweezers without affecting the coherence of qubits stored nearby. Using a reloading rate of 300,000 atoms in tweezers per second, we create over 30,000 initialized qubits per second, which we leverage to assemble and maintain an array of over 3,000 atoms for more than two hours. Furthermore, we demonstrate persistent refilling of the array with atomic qubits in either a spin-polarized or a coherent superposition state while preserving the quantum state of stored qubits. Our results pave the way for realization of large-scale continuously operated atomic clocks, sensors, and fault-tolerant quantum computers.



 

    ![Arrays of qubits, showing storage, preparation, and lattice zones](/sites/g/files/omnuum6416/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/2026-03/Screenshot%202026-03-06%20at%2014.44.24.png?itok=KQQDHCts) 

 



 

 [Chiu et al., Nature 646, p. 1075–1080 (2025)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09596-6)



   

 



 

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