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Ph.D. Thesis - Physics

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−2ecV<br />

qi = ζi<br />

mr2 0Ω2 4ecU<br />

ai = ζi<br />

mr2 0Ω2 (4.4)<br />

(4.5)<br />

where ec = 1.6 × 10 −19 C is used throughout the thesis as the (positive) elementary charge,<br />

m is the mass of the ion, and r0 is defined in Fig. 4-1 as the distance from the trap center<br />

to the nearest point of the rf electrode. The constants ζi depend on the direction i; i = 1<br />

for ˆx and ˆy, while i = −1 for ˆz. U is a voltage that may be applied to the endcaps of the<br />

ring trap. Since it is possible to trap with U = 0, a is normally zero. In the lattice trap<br />

(Ch. 5) and elliptical trap (Ch. 7), no dc voltage is required to trap the ions. In traps based<br />

on linear ion traps, however, the rf fields provide confinement along only two directions; a<br />

static voltage is required for the third. Even in this case, however, ions may be trapped if<br />

U is small compared to V . The parameters a and q determine whether the trap is stable,<br />

that is, whether an ion confined in it can remain so. The “stability regions” in a-q space<br />

have been calculated, and are given in [Gho95]. In particular, for a = 0, 0 ≤ q ≤ 0.908<br />

results in a stable trap.<br />

The method of solution of these equations is presented in [LBMW03]. For our purposes,<br />

it will be sufficient to invoke the pseudopotential approximation. This result assumes that<br />

the motion of the ions can be decomposed into two parts: small oscillations at the drive<br />

frequency Ω, referred to as micromotion, and slower oscillations within an effective harmonic<br />

well at a lower frequency, called the secular motion. The solution has the form<br />

<br />

ui(t) = Ai cos (ωit) 1 + qi<br />

<br />

cos (Ωt) , (4.6)<br />

2<br />

where Ai is the amplitude of the ion’s motion along direction i. The term that oscillates<br />

at Ω represents the micromotion. It is proportional to the term of order unity, and smaller<br />

by a factor of qi<br />

2 . Since qi is around 0.3 for many of our experiments, the amplitude of this<br />

motion is on the order of one-tenth that of the secular motion, hence the term micromotion<br />

is apt. When a = 0, the relation between the secular frequency ω and the drive frequency<br />

Ω is<br />

ωi = qi<br />

2 √ Ω, (4.7)<br />

2<br />

giving rise to our oft-stated “rule of thumb” that the secular frequency is about one-tenth<br />

the drive frequency.<br />

The formula for the pseudopotential Ψ is<br />

Ψ(x, y,z) = Q2<br />

4mΩ2 <br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

∇V (x, y,z)<br />

86<br />

2<br />

, (4.8)

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