Abstract
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 34.52MHz reaches a quality factor of Q ≈ 2.3 × 105 at a temperature of 4.1K 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.
Highlights
Over the past decades, Paul traps have proven themselves as indispensable instruments in physics and chemistry, as well as wide-spread analytical applications
Their confinement of ions inside a zero-field environment with long storage times makes them especially suited for quantum computing and optical frequency metrology:1–3 High trapping frequencies allow for recoil-free absorption of photons, enabling quantum computation4,5 and quantum logic spectroscopy6 (QLS) by coupling electronic and motional degrees of freedom of the ions
We have introduced and commissioned a novel cryogenic ion trap employing a superconducting cavity which confines ions within the RF field of its electric quadrupole mode
Summary
Paul traps have proven themselves as indispensable instruments in physics and chemistry, as well as wide-spread analytical applications Their confinement of ions inside a zero-field environment with long storage times makes them especially suited for quantum computing and optical frequency metrology: High trapping frequencies allow for recoil-free absorption of photons, enabling quantum computation and quantum logic spectroscopy (QLS) by coupling electronic and motional degrees of freedom of the ions. This has paved the way for many fundamental physics studies with atomic systems (for a review see, e.g., Ref. 7), such as searches for a possible temporal variation of fundamental constants or local Lorentz invariance, that have been made possible by the ultimate accuracy and low systematic uncertainties of Paul trap experiments.. Since we aim for direct frequency comb spectroscopy of HCI in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) range, a dedicated XUV frequency comb based on highharmonic-generation inside an optical enhancement cavity has been set up and commissioned at MPIK.
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