  We present results of numerical simulations of the evolution of an ion trap
quantum computer made out of 18 ions which are subject to a sequence of nearly
15000 laser pulses in order to find the prime factors of N=15. We analyze the
effect of random and systematic phase drift errors arising from inaccuracies in
the laser pulses which induce over (under) rotation of the quantum state.
Simple analytic estimates of the tolerance for the quality of driving pulses
are presented. We examine the use of watchdog stabilization to partially
correct phase drift errors concluding that, in the regime investigated, it is
rather inefficient.
