Ph.D. Thesis - Physics
Ph.D. Thesis - Physics
Ph.D. Thesis - Physics
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Figure 6-2: Layout of the trap electrodes for San Quentin, each labeled with the voltage<br />
applied. All voltages except Vrf are dc. A coordinate axis is also supplied; the vantage<br />
point in this figure is from the positive ˆy axis, or above the trap.<br />
are segmented and are held at carefully-chosen dc potentials. These electrodes both provide<br />
confinement along the trap axis and compensate for stray dc fields. Some compensation<br />
must be done even in the absence of stray fields, since the endcap electrodes have field<br />
components not only along ˆz, the trap axis, but also along ˆy, which is defined to be the<br />
vertical direction as noted in the figure. Also, optionally, a “top plate” is positioned above<br />
the ion trap with a hole cut for fluorescence imaging. It is often grounded but may hold<br />
a dc voltage Vtop. Such an electrode was used in the macroion, but not the 88 Sr + ion,<br />
experiments reported in Sec. 5.5.<br />
6.2.1 Modeling the trap<br />
The trap is modeled using the CPO software that was discussed also in Ch. 5. The method<br />
is to calculate the static potentials that result from voltages on the rf electrodes, then apply<br />
the pseudopotential approximation (Eq. 4.8) to them. To this pseudopotential is added<br />
the potential resulting from static voltages on the dc electrodes. Typical rf voltages of Vrf<br />
= 500-1200 V were applied at Ω/(2π) = 7.6 MHz. This rf drive frequency may take a<br />
range of values; normally a suitable range of values is found from simulations and the exact<br />
frequency used depends on the rf properties of the combined resonator-trap system, which<br />
is difficult to exactly predict ahead of time. Other typical voltages were V2 = 110 V, V3 =<br />
50 V, and V4 = V5 = 0.<br />
Surface-electrode traps have the unique property compared to 3-D Paul traps that the<br />
trap depth can be increased by applying a voltage Vtop to the top plate. With this increase<br />
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