Diffractive Optics for Sensing and Networking with Trapped Ions

In this thesis I present my contribution towards a quantum communication platform using trapped ions, Fresnel optics, and frequency conversion waveguides. I discuss the major components required for this platform, as well as show our high control over trapped ions. I also demonstrate that the high resolution imaging of lens-based optical interconnects enable a new way to monitor trapped ions as 3D sub-attonewton force sensors. The experiments presented here were achieved across two Yb+ ion traps.