  Atomic ions trapped in ultra-high vacuum form an especially well-understood
and useful physical system for quantum information processing. They provide
excellent shielding of quantum information from environmental noise, while
strong, well-controlled laser interactions readily provide quantum logic gates.
A number of basic quantum information protocols have been demonstrated with
trapped ions. Much current work aims at the construction of large-scale
ion-trap quantum computers using complex microfabricated trap arrays. Several
groups are also actively pursuing quantum interfacing of trapped ions with
photons.
