Blinking Optical Tweezers for Atom Rearrangements

ABSTRACT We introduce and experimentally demonstrate an energy‐efficient method for holding and rearranging an array of atoms using only optical tweezers. Our approach employs a single optical tweezer that sequentially releases and recaptures individual atoms. By applying a stroboscopic harmonic potential, we maintain the phase‐space quadrature of each atom's probability distribution during this “blinking” process, provided the trap frequency meets specific conditions. In our proof‐of‐concept experiments, we show that a blinking tweezer can hold atoms using just of the optical power per atom and further facilitate rearrangement atoms in various configurations. With further technical improvements, such as ground‐state cooling and correction for trap anharmonicities, this technique is expected to be scaled up to around atoms in our setup. This method provides a scalable and reconfigurable platform for optical tweezer arrays, with potential applications in assembling and manipulating large‐scale quantum systems.