Fast entangling quantum gates can significantly enhance the performance of a trapped-ion quantum computer. In pursuit of implementing a fast two-qubit gate, we investigate the coherent excitation of a 40 Ca + ion with a train of picosecond pulses resonant to the 4S 1/2 « 4P 3/2 transition. The optical pulse train is derived from a mode-locked, stabilized optical frequency comb. We implement two techniques to characterize the pulse-ion interaction and show how all requirements can be met for an implementation of a fast phase gate operation.
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