Double-well trap for charged microparticles

Abstract

We propose a double-well linear Paul trap for particle’s spatial selection according to the charge-to-mass ratio. To perform spatial selection we implemented an experimental setup that permits to detect particles’ positions in the double-well trap from three different view-points: top, front left, and front right. The setup gives an opportunity to monitor the particles’ axial density distribution in real-time. We have shown a strong correlation between axial position of separated localization areas and the DC voltages applied to the rod and end-cap electrodes. We have experimentally determined the critical localization parameters where double-well mode acquires for all the trapped charged microparticles. According to the experimental data and a numerical simulation a upper value of charge-to-mass ratio of the trapped microparticles was estimated.