End-cap Electrodes Research Articles

A comprehensive study on a tapered Paul trap: from design to potential applications

Abstract We present a tapered Paul trap whose radio frequency electrodes are inclined to the symmetric axis of the endcap electrodes, resulting in a funnel-shaped trapping potential. With this configuration, a charged particle confined in this trap has its radial degrees of freedom coupled to that of the axial direction. The same design was successfully used to experimentally realize a single-atom heat engine, and with this setup amplification of zeptonewton forces was implemented. In this paper, we show the design, implementation, and characterization of such an ion trap in detail. This system offers a high level of control over the ion’s motion. Its novel features promise applications in the field of quantum thermodynamics, quantum sensing, and quantum information.

ОБ ОСОБЕННОСТЯХ ЛОКАЛИЗАЦИИ ИОНОВ В ЛИНЕЙНОЙ КВАДРУПОЛЬНОЙ ЛОВУШКЕС ЗАПИРАЮЩИМИ ЭЛЕКТРОДАМИ

In this paper we consider the features of ion trapping in a linear quadrupole Paul trap with circular end-cap electrodes. The quasi-periodic and chaotic regimes of the ion dynamics in the conservative case are shown. The conditions for the transition from the quasi-periodic to the chaotic regime are determined. We present a numerical simulation of the ion dynamics and describe the splitting of the localization region as a function of the ratio of the voltage components on the power and end-cap electrodes.

Translation-deformation coupling effects on the Rayleigh instability of an electrodynamically levitated charged droplet.

The breakup pathway of the Rayleigh fission process observed in the past experiments carried out using high-speed imaging of a charged drop levitated in an AC quadrupole trap has shown to exhibit several cycles of shape and center-of-mass oscillations followed by asymmetric breakup by ejecting a jet in the upward direction (i.e., opposite to the direction of gravity). We recently attempted to explain this using boundary integral simulations in the Stokes flow limit, wherein the position of the droplet and the polarity of the end cap electrodes were assigned using physical arguments, and the center-of-mass motion was not estimated consistently invoking quasi-static conditions. In this work, we explain the experimental observation of upward breakup of charged droplets in a quadrupolar field, using numerical calculations based on the boundary element method considering inviscid droplets levitated electrodynamically using quadrupole electric fields. The center-of-mass motion and the end cap are consistently calculated in the numerical scheme. The simulations show that the gravity-induced downward shift in the equilibrium position of the drop in the trap causes significant, large-amplitude shape oscillations superimposed over the center-of-mass oscillations of the drop. An important observation here is that the shape oscillations due to the applied quadrupole fields result in sufficient deformations that act as triggers for the onset of the instability below the Rayleigh limit, thereby admitting a subcritical instability. The center-of-mass oscillations of the droplet within the trap, which follow the applied frequency, are out of phase with the applied AC signal. Thus the combined effect of shape deformations and dynamic position of the drop leads to an asymmetric breakup such that the Rayleigh fission occurs upward via the ejection of a jet at the north pole of the deformed drop.

Double-well trap for charged microparticles

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.

The TAMUTRAP facility: A Penning trap facility at Texas A&M University for weak interaction studies

The Texas A&M University Penning Trap (TAMUTRAP) facility aims to test the standard model of the electroweak interaction by measuring the β-ν correlation parameter, aβν, for β-delayed proton emitters in the atomic mass range 20 < A < 40. Precision measurements of this correlation parameter and, inextricably, the Fierz interference parameter, are a sensitive probe of physics beyond the standard model. Using off-line ion sources, the TAMUTRAP facility has been commissioned by demonstrating the ability to manipulate the trapped-ion motions as well as to perform precision mass measurements. Our novel cylindrical Penning trap – the world's largest – differs from typical designs in two key aspects: the electrode structure has an 180-mm inner diameter and an overall length of 334.89 mm leading to a uniquely small length/radius ratio l/r = 3.72; and we do not use the long end cap approximation, instead our short endcap electrodes are closed and capable of being placed at an arbitrary potential. This geometry is optimized for observing β-delayed proton decays, but is also well suited for other in-trap and post-trap precision decay experiments. In addition to presenting an overview of the TAMUTRAP facility, we demonstrate that our unique Penning trap is able to measure masses with a precision similar to typical trap designs.

A new setup for low-temperature gas-phase ion fluorescence spectroscopy.

Here, we present a new instrument named LUNA2 (LUminescence iNstrument in Aarhus 2), which is purpose-built to measure dispersed fluorescence spectra of gaseous ions produced by electrospray ionization and cooled to low temperatures (<100K). LUNA2 is, as an earlier room-temperature setup (LUNA), optimized for a high collection efficiency of photons and includes improvements based on our operational experience with LUNA. The fluorescence cell is a cylindrical Paul trap made of copper with a hole in the ring electrode to permit laser light to interact with the trapped ions, and one end-cap electrode is a mesh grid combined with an aspheric condenser lens. The entrance and exit electrodes are both in physical contact with the liquid-nitrogen cooling unit to reduce cooling times. Mass selection is done in a two-step scheme where, first, high-mass ions are ejected followed by low-mass ions according to the Mathieu stability region. This scheme may provide a higher mass resolution than when only one DC voltage is used. Ions are irradiated by visible light delivered from a nanosecond 20-Hz pulsed laser, and dispersed fluorescence is measured with a spectrometer combined with an iCCD camera that allows intensification of the signal for a short time interval. LUNA2 contains an additional Paul trap that can be used for mass selection before ions enter the fluorescence cell, which potentially is relevant to diminishing RF heating in the cold trap. Successful operation of the setup is demonstrated from experiments with rhodamine dyes and oxazine-4, and spectral changes with temperature are identified.

Velocity distribution of 43Ca+ion cloud in the low temperature limit in a quadrupole Penning Trap

Penning trap has electric field created by DC voltage applied between ring and end cap electrodes and magnetic field is applied along symmetry axis, as the electric field confines ions in the axial direction through an electric potential minimum and the magnetic field confines the ions in the radial direction. The trapping potential created by the DC voltage applied between the end cap and ring electrodes in the low temperature limit is cancelled by Coulomb interaction of ions and the total energy is mainly kinetic energy of ions. The velocity distribution of 43Ca+ ions along axial direction, in radial plane and total velocity distribution due to resulting motion of both axial and radial motion of ions in low temperature limit in a Quadrupole Penning trap are presented here. These results reveal the properties of 43Ca+ ion cloud and are useful to study confining techniques for different types of ions in low temperature limit and a qubit can be encoded in the hyperfine ground states of 43Ca+ isotope for ion trap quantum computation.

Energy distribution of an ion cloud in a quadrupole Penning Trap

Ions are confined in Penning trap by the combination of electric field and magnetic field, as the electric field confines ions in the axial direction through an electric potential minimum and the magnetic field applied along the axis of the trap confines the ions in the radial direction. In the high temperature limit Coulomb interaction of ions can be neglected and the total energy is due to the electrostatic potential energy of the charge of ions and kinetic energy due to thermal energy. However, in the low temperature limit the trapping potential created by the dc voltage applied between the end cap and ring electrodes is cancelled by Coulomb interaction of ions and the total energy is mainly kinetic energy of ions. The probability density of energy distribution of ions along axial direction, in radial plane and total probability density of energy distribution due to resulting motion of both axial and radial motion of ions under high temperature and low temperature limits in a Quadrupole Penning trap are presented here. These results reveal the energy properties of ion cloud and are useful to carry out accurate measurement experiments on single stored particle, antiparticles with energy related parameters, under high temperature and low temperature limits in a Quadrupole Penning trap.

A Paul trap with sectored ring electrodes for experiments with two-dimensional ion crystals.

We have developed a trapped ion system for producing two-dimensional (2D) ion crystals for applications in scalable quantum computing, quantum simulations, and 2D crystal phase transition and defect studies. The trap is a modification of a Paul trap with its ring electrode flattened and split into eight identical sectors and its two endcap electrodes shaped as truncated hollow cones for laser and imaging optics access. All ten trap electrodes can be independently DC-biased to create various aspect ratio trap geometries. We trap and Doppler cool 2D crystals of up to 30 Ba+ ions and demonstrate the tunability of the trapping potential both in the plane of the crystal and in the transverse direction.

Properties of a cylindrical Penning trap with conical endcap openings

We describe the results of analytical calculations and numerical simulations of the confinement properties of a mechanically compensated cylindrical Penning trap which has conical endcap openings for large-solid-angle access for example with highly focused laser beams. While the analytical calculations show that under the common geometrical conditions the harmonicity of the confining fields near the centre of the trap does not change when a conical shape of the endcap electrodes is introduced, numerical simulations show significant changes when the opening angle of the cone exceeds a certain critical angle. We also show that these sharp features are due to the fringe-field effects above the critical angle, which are not described by the analytical calculations. These effects are also observed in a cylindrical Penning trap when the length of the endcap electrodes is reduced below a certain critical value.

A cylindrical quadrupole ion trap in combination with an electrospray ion source for gas-phase luminescence and absorption spectroscopy.

A relatively simple setup for collection and detection of light emitted from isolated photo-excited molecular ions has been constructed. It benefits from a high collection efficiency of photons, which is accomplished by using a cylindrical ion trap where one end-cap electrode is a mesh grid combined with an aspheric condenser lens. The geometry permits nearly 10% of the emitted light to be collected and, after transmission losses, approximately 5% to be delivered to the entrance of a grating spectrometer equipped with a detector array. The high collection efficiency enables the use of pulsed tunable lasers with low repetition rates (e.g., 20 Hz) instead of continuous wave (cw) lasers or very high repetition rate (e.g., MHz) lasers that are typically used as light sources for gas-phase fluorescence experiments on molecular ions. A hole has been drilled in the cylinder electrode so that a light pulse can interact with the ion cloud in the center of the trap. Simulations indicate that these modifications to the trap do not significantly affect the storage capability and the overall shape of the ion cloud. The overlap between the ion cloud and the laser light is basically 100%, and experimentally >50% of negatively charged chromophore ions are routinely photodepleted. The performance of the setup is illustrated based on fluorescence spectra of several laser dyes, and the quality of these spectra is comparable to those reported by other groups. Finally, by replacing the optical system with a channeltron detector, we demonstrate that the setup can also be used for gas-phase action spectroscopy where either depletion or fragmentation is monitored to provide an indirect measurement on the absorption spectrum of the ion.

Numerical analysis of segmented-electrode Orbitraps

Simple geometries which are possible alternatives for the Orbitrap are studied in this paper. We have taken up for numerical investigation two segmented-electrode structures, ORB1 and ORB2, to mimic the electric field of the Orbitrap. In the ORB1, the inner spindle-like electrode and the outer barrel-like electrode of the Orbitrap have been replaced by 35 rings and 35 discs of fixed radii, respectively. In this structure two segmented end cap electrodes have been added. In this geometry, different potentials are applied to the different electrodes keeping top-bottom symmetry intact. In the second geometry, ORB2, the inner and outer electrodes of the Orbitrap were replaced by an approximate step structure which follows the profile of the Orbitrap electrodes. In the present study 45 steps have been used. In the ORB2, like the Orbitrap, the inner electrode is held at a negative potential and the outer electrode is at ground potential.For the purpose of comparing the performance of ORB1 and ORB2 with that of the Orbitrap, the following studies have been undertaken: (1) variation of electric potential, (2) computation of ion trajectories, (3) simulation of image currents. These studies have been carried out using both 2D and 3D Boundary Element Method (BEM), the 3D BEM was developed specifically for this study. It has been seen in these investigations that ORB1 and ORB2 have performance similar to that of the Orbitrap, with the performance of the ORB1 being seen to be marginally superior to that of the ORB2.It has been shown that with proper optimization, geometries containing far fewer electrodes can be used as mass analyzers. A novel technique of optimization of the electric field has been proposed with the objective of minimizing the dependence of axial frequency of ion motion on the initial position of an ion. The results on the optimization of 9 and 15 segmented-electrode traps having the same design as ORB1 show that it can provide accurate mass analysis.

Development and Evaluation of a Variable-Temperature Quadrupole Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer.

A new, variable-temperature mass spectrometer system is described. By applying polyimide heating tape to the end-cap electrodes of a Bruker (Bremen, Germany) Esquire ion trap, it is possible to vary the effective temperature of the system between 40 and 100°C. The modification does not impact the operation of the ion trap and the heater can be used for extended periods without degradation of the system. The accuracy of the ion trap temperatures was assessed by examining two gas-phase equilibrium processes with known thermochemistry. In each case, the variable-temperature ion trap provided data that were in good accord with literature data, indicating the effective temperature in the ion trap environment was being successfully modulated by the changes in the set-point temperatures on the end-cap electrodes. The new design offers a convenient and effective way to convert commercial ion trap mass spectrometers into variable-temperature instruments.

Automatic minimisation of micromotion in a 88Sr+ optical clock

Optical clocks based on narrow linewidth transitions in single cold ions confined in RF traps are being developed at a number of laboratories worldwide. For these ion clock systems, excess micromotion can cause both Stark and Doppler frequency shifts and also a degradation of frequency stability as a result of a reduced excitation rate to the clock transition. At NPL, we detect micromotion in our 88Sr+ optical clocks by observing the correlation between photon arrival times and the zero crossing of the RF trap drive signal. Recently, two nominally identical 88Sr+ optical clocks have been operated over several days and their frequencies compared against one another. During this time the dc voltages on the endcap and compensation voltage electrodes required to minimise the micromotion can change significantly, particularly following the loading of an ion. This paper describes an automatic method to monitor and minimise micromotion applicable to single ion clocks and which we demonstrate using our two NPL 88Sr+ ion clocks.

A modified auxiliary excitation signal for achieving unidirectional ion ejection in quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometers operating in the resonance ejection mode

This paper proposes a technique to cause unidirectional ion ejection in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer operated in the resonance ejection mode. In this technique a modified auxiliary dipolar excitation signal is applied to the endcap electrodes. This modified signal is a linear combination of two signals. The first signal is the nominal dipolar excitation signal which is applied across the endcap electrodes and the second signal is the second harmonic of the first signal, the amplitude of the second harmonic being larger than that of the fundamental.We have investigated the effect of the following parameters on achieving unidirectional ion ejection: primary signal amplitude, ratio of amplitude of second harmonic to that of primary signal amplitude, different operating points, different scan rates, different mass to charge ratios and different damping constants.In all these simulations unidirectional ejection of destabilized ions has been successfully achieved.

Development of MS(n) in digitally operated linear ion guides.

This publication demonstrates the use of digital waveform manipulation in linear ion guides to trap isolated ions and fragment them before mass analysis by time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). Ion trapping and collection was performed by waveform duty cycle manipulation to create a negative axial potential between the rods and the end-cap electrodes. Ion isolation can be performed by duty cycle manipulation to narrow the range of stable masses while continuing to axially trap the ions. Further ion isolation can then be performed by jumping the quadrupole frequency to each side of the stability zone to eliminate ions above and below the isolated ion mass. Collision-induced dissociation was demonstrated by duty cycle manipulation to either axially or radially excite the ions. The methods for performing these types of excitations are discussed and demonstrated. These techniques can be combined or used separately for MS(n) analysis. The use of frequency and duty cycle manipulation of the applied waveforms simplifies the hardware while greatly increasing the capabilities of linear ion guides and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometers (Q-TOF-MS). Linear quadrupoles can now be used as high efficiency ion traps for collection, isolation, and tandem mass spectrometry at any value of m/z when operated digitally.

Properties of a multipole ion trap studied by evaporative ion losses

We have studied a scheme for analysing the effective trapping potential for ions in a 22-pole ion trap, based on the strong dependence of the lifetime of the ions on the buffer gas temperature. We distinguish two regimes for ion losses, either over one of the two end cap electrodes (axial direction) or over the effective radiofrequency potential (radial direction), and examine these schemes under different trap settings. We have found that evaporation over one of the end caps yields an effective temperature of the ions that is much larger than the buffer gas temperature. This may be a hint for an enhancement of the high-energy tail of the ions’ velocity distribution. We also observe and investigate a breakdown of thermalisation for trap temperatures lower than 25K. Measurements for OH− and D− anions have shown that this feature is independent of both the buffer gas to ion mass ratio and the trapping parameters.

Simulation and Optimization of Miniature Ring-Endcap Ion Traps

With the decrease in dimension of ion traps employed in optical frequency standards and precision spectroscopy, the sensitivity of trapping behavior to trap geometry is more and more prominent. We present a guide for the design and construction of a miniature trap for a single ion confinement, and propose an optimized combination of rring/rendcap ≈ 0.5 and z0 ≈ r0 within the range of r0 = 0.7 ± 0.2 mm. Compared with the trap used by Huang et al. [Phys. Rev. A 84 (2011) 053841], the design can lead to an increase in trap pseudo-potential of more than 20% and a reduction on potential anharmonicity of more than 90%. The improvements make the trap closer to an ideal hyperboloidal trap to confine a single ion tightly with the benefit of weaker micro-motion. Considering the imperfection of electrodes machining and traps alignment, we also demonstrate the importance of trap symmetry, especially on two endcap electrodes.

Geometric Optimization of Hybrid Ion Trap

In this study we determined the effect of geometry of ring electrode on the operation of a new ion trap with cylindrical ring electrode and hyperbolical end cap electrode. This model indicated how adjusting the geometric cell parameters could reduce the impact of presence of higher order fields. Our work also illustrated the possibility of improving other desired properties of a trap. For example we found how these adjustments could minimize the non-linear effects. We also noticed the possibility of increasing the time of ion storage in a trap by the effect of one field in a hybrid ion trap. In this study we have obtained all of the equations of motion in a trap analytically. PACS: 37.10.Ty, 07.75.th

Variable field ion traps

This paper presents a technique to vary the electric field within a cylindrical ion trap (CIT) mass spectrometer while it is in operation. In this technique, the electrodes of the CIT are split into number of mini-electrodes and different voltages are applied to these split-electrodes to achieve the desired field.In our study we have investigated two geometries of the split-electrode CIT. In the first, we retain the flat endcap electrodes of the CIT but split the ring electrode into five mini-rings. In the second configuration, we split the ring electrode of the CIT into three mini-rings and also divide the endcaps into two mini-discs. By applying different potentials to the mini-rings and mini-discs of these geometries we have shown that the field within the trap can be optimized to desired values. In our study, two different types of fields were targeted. In the first, potentials were adjusted to obtain a linear electric field and, in the second, a controlled higher order even multipole field was obtained by adjusting the potential.We have shown that the different potentials required can be derived from a single RF generator by connecting appropriate capacitor terminations to split electrodes. The field within the trap can be modified by changing the values of the external capacitors.