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Review of Scientific Instruments

Linear Paul trap for strontium ions

Dana J. Berkeland

Published Aug 1, 2002• 52 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate a linear radio-frequency trap for confining strontium ions that is simply constructed nearly entirely with commercial off-the-shelf components. The electrodes of this trap are spaced to allow tight radial confinement, and segmented to give tight axial confinement with minimal distortion of the radio-frequency field. The resulting secular frequencies of the trap are 1 MHz in the radial direction and 100 kHz in the axial direction, the ions can be imaged with 2–3 μm resolution, and we detect over 20 000 photons per second per ion. This article describes the construction of the vital parts of the trap system, the laser system and optics used to Doppler cool the ions and to observe quantum jumps, and the operation and behavior of the complete system.

DOI
10.1063/1.1489073

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European Journal of Physics•Apr 8, 2013•4 citations
We demonstrate a linear radio-frequency trap for confining strontium ions that is simply constructed nearly entirely with commercial off-the-shelf components. The electrodes of this trap are spaced to allow tight radial confinement, and segmented to give tight axial confinement with minimal distortion of the radio-frequency field. The resulting secular frequencies of the trap are 1 MHz in the radial direction and 100 kHz in the axial direction, the ions can be imaged with 2–3 μm resolution, and we detect over 20 000 photons per second per ion. This article describes the construction of the vital parts of the trap system, the laser system and optics used to Doppler cool the ions and to observe quantum jumps, and the operation and behavior of the complete system.
We describe the construction and operation of a segmented linear Paul trap, fabricated in printed-circuit-board technology with an electrode segment width of 500 μm. We prove the applicability of this technology to reliable ion trapping and report the observation of Doppler-cooled ion crystals of 40 Ca + with this kind of trap. Measured trap frequencies agree with numerical simulations at the level of a few percent from which we infer a high fabrication accuracy of the segmented trap. To demonstrate its usefulness and versatility for trapped ion experiments we study the fast transport of a single ion. Our experimental results show a success rate of 99.0(1)% for a transport distance of 2 × 2 mm in a round-trip time of T = 20 μs, which corresponds to 4 axial oscillations only. We theoretically and experimentally investigate the excitation of oscillations caused by fast ion transports with error-function voltage ramps: for a slightly slower transport (a round-trip shuttle within T = 30 μs) we observe non-adiabatic motional excitation of 0.89(15) meV.
We present a novel ultrastable superconducting radio-frequency (RF) ion trap realized as a combination of an RF cavity and a linear Paul trap. Its RF quadrupole mode at 34.52 MHz reaches a quality factor of Q ≈ 2.3 × 105 at a temperature of 4.1 K and is used to radially confine ions in an ultralow-noise pseudopotential. This concept is expected to strongly suppress motional heating rates and related frequency shifts that limit the ultimate accuracy achieved in advanced ion traps for frequency metrology. Running with its low-vibration cryogenic cooling system, electron-beam ion trap, and deceleration beamline supplying highly charged ions (HCIs), the superconducting trap offers ideal conditions for optical frequency metrology with ionic species. We report its proof-of-principle operation as a quadrupole-mass filter with HCIs and trapping of Doppler-cooled 9Be+ Coulomb crystals.
We have fabricated a miniature three-segment linear Paul trap with r 0=0.6 mm and 2Z 0=4 mm. In order to perform quantum-state manipulation of trapped 40 Ca+ ions, we discuss the required harmonic oscillation frequencies which allow us to perform effective sideband cooling and have measured those that depend on the dimensions of the trap. A laser beam that has a component in the radial direction of the linear trap as well as that propagating along the trap axis has been used to detect the fluorescence spectra of the 42 S 1/2–42 P 1/2 transition. We have observed that the profile of the fluorescence spectrum obtained with the side laser beam is markedly different from that obtained with the axial laser beam due to micromotion. By applying additional DC voltages, the micromotion has been compensated, its amplitude has been estimated, and crystallization has been observed for two 40 Ca+ and four 40 Ca+ ions.
We report on development of a miniature linear rf ion trap and preliminary efforts to trap and laser-cool {sup 24}Mg{sup +} ions. This trap has a radial dimension of 50 {mu}m, one tenth the size of our previous trap. The rms confinement of a trapped ion scales as R{sup -2}, where R is the trap radius, so tight confinement of ions is possible at a modest rf voltage. Although the three-dimensional trapping potential for our trap cannot be calculated analytically, it can be described in terms of dimensionless parameters, measured by studying macroscopic charged particles in a much larger model of the trap. We expect that with this trap it will be possible to achieve secular frequencies high enough for resolved-sideband cooling of light ions using allowed dipole transitions. This will make it much easier to perform experiments on the quantum motion of trapped ions. This trap uses a two-wire design rather than the more common four-wire one, so the trap electrodes occlude a much smaller solid angle than either a four-wire linear trap or the more common quadrupole trap. Thus, it will be possible to couple optical devices, such as high-finesse cavities, much more efficiently to trapped ions.
We describe the construction and operation of a segmented linear Paul trap, fabricated in printed-circuit-board technology with an electrode segment width of 500 microns. We prove the applicability of this technology to reliable ion trapping and report the observation of Doppler cooled ion crystals of Ca-40 with this kind of traps. Measured trap frequencies agree with numerical simulations at the level of a few percent from which we infer a high fabrication accuracy of the segmented trap. To demonstrate its usefulness and versatility for trapped ion experiments we study the fast transport of a single ion. Our experimental results show a success rate of 99.0(1)% for a transport distance of 2x2mm in a round-trip time of T=20us, which corresponds to 4 axial oscillations only. We theoretically and experimentally investigate the excitation of oscillations caused by fast ion transports with error-function voltage ramps: For a slightly slower transport (a round-trip shuttle within T=30us) we observe non-adiabatic motional excitation of 0.89(15)meV.
We demonstrate a simple electronic detection method for trapped ions in a linear Paul trap. Singly charged calcium ions are confined in a linear Paul trap and are driven by an ac electric field at their secular frequency. The collective motion of the ions causes induced current on the trap electrodes, and the current signal is detected by a tuned circuit. This paper describes the design of the tuned circuit and the performance of this detection method. This method can be applied to various species of ions in different trap geometries. It serves as a simple tool to probe the existing ions in the trap, while in some cases, optical detection is not feasible. This method is particularly suitable for demonstration in teaching laboratories where the ion trap systems and detection circuits can be constructed by undergraduate students.