Experimental demonstration of a technique to generate arbitrary quantum superposition states of a harmonically bound spin-1/2 particle

Using a single, harmonically trapped Be-9(+) ion, we experimentally demonstrate a technique for generation of arbitrary states of a two-level particle confined by a harmonic potential. Rather than engineering a single Hamiltonian that evolves the system to a desired final state, we implement a technique that applies a sequence of simple operations to synthesize the state.