Minimization of ion micromotion in a Paul trap

Published

January 1, 1998

Author(s)

D J. Berkeland, J D. Miller, James C. Bergquist, Wayne M. Itano, David J. Wineland

Abstract

Micromotion of ions in Paul traps has several adverse effects, including alterations of atomic transition line shapes, significatn second-order Doppler shifts in high-accuracy studies and limited confinement time in the absence of cooling. The ac electric field that cause the micromotion may also induce significant Stark shifts in atomic transitions. We describe three methods of detecting micromotion. The first relies on the change of the average ion position as the trap potentials are changed. The second monitors the amplitude of the sidebands of a narrow atomic transition, caused by the first-order Doppler shift due to the micromotion. The last technique detects the Doppler shift induced modulation of the fluorescence rate of a broad atomic transition. We discuss the detection sensitivity of each method to Doppler and Stark shifts, and show experimental results using teh last technique.

Citation

Journal of Applied Physics

Volume

83

Pub Type

Journals

Citation

Berkeland, D. , Miller, J. , Bergquist, J. , Itano, W. and Wineland, D. (1998), Minimization of ion micromotion in a Paul trap, Journal of Applied Physics (Accessed April 5, 2025)