English

Endcap-Type Paul Trap for Precision Spectroscopy and Studies of Controlled Interactions

Atomic Physics 2026-01-13 v1

Abstract

We present the design and fabrication of an endcap-type Paul trap. The trap is designed for studies with Ca+^{+} and Yb+^{+}. The design, fabrication process, and characterization are presented in detail with a focus on trapping a single compensated ion at the rf node. A custom-built imaging system of NA=0.14NA = 0.14 and magnification 22×\approx 22 \times performs close to diffraction-limit and resolves multi-ion clusters. Controlled ion loading and characterization of the trap are performed using 40^{40}Ca+^{+}. The experimentally determined quadrupole coefficient of the trap is 0.3\approx 0.3, which is very close to the design value. The relative frequency shift along the spectroscopy beam due to excess micromotion (EMM) is at the level of 3.5×10183.5\times 10^{-18} for 40^{40}Ca+^{+}. Applications of this trap encompass single-ion-based optical frequency standards, tests of fundamental physics, the study of mesoscopic Coulomb clusters, and the controlled interaction of a single ion with co-trapped atoms.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.07328,
  title  = {Endcap-Type Paul Trap for Precision Spectroscopy and Studies of Controlled Interactions},
  author = {Anand Prakash and Akhil Ayyadevara and E. Krishnakumar and M. Ibrahim and K. M. Yatheendran and Subhadeep De and Sayan Patra and S. A. Rangwala},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.07328},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

17 pages, 10 figures