Minimization of Ion Micromotion in a Linear Paul Trap with a High Finesse Cavity

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to minimize ion micromotion in a linear Paul trap using a high finesse cavity, enabling sub-nanometer precision essential for cavity QED experiments.

Contribution

The authors demonstrate a novel technique for 3-D micromotion minimization in ion traps utilizing cavity emission spectra, overcoming optical access limitations.

Findings

Micromotion amplitude reduced to ground state wave function spread.

Sub-nanometer micromotion compensation achieved.

Effective 3-D micromotion minimization demonstrated.

Abstract

We demonstrate minimization of ion micromotion in a linear Paul trap with the use of a high finesse cavity. The excess ion micromotion projected along the optical cavity axis or along the laser propagation direction manifests itself as sideband peaks around the carrier in the ion-cavity emission spectrum. By minimizing the sideband height in the emission spectrum, we are able to reduce the micromotion amplitude to approximately the spread of the ground state wave function. This method is useful for cavity QED experiments as it allows for efficient 3-D micromotion compensation despite optical access limitations imposed by the cavity mirrors. We also show that sub-nanometer micromotion compensation is possible with our current system.