Minimization of ion micromotion using ultracold atomic probes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a highly sensitive method to minimize ion micromotion in a Paul trap using ultracold atomic probes, effective even for ions that cannot be optically accessed, and avoids issues like patch charges.

Contribution

The authors present a novel technique that uses ultracold neutral atoms to minimize ion micromotion, achieving high precision without optical probing or patch charge formation.

Findings

Achieved micromotion compensation precision comparable to existing methods.

Applicable to ions that cannot be optically probed.

Avoids formation of patch charges, enhancing long-term stability.

Abstract

We report on a new sensitive method to minimize excess micromotion of an ion in a Paul trap. The ion is placed in an ultracold cloud of neutral Rb atoms in which ionic micromotion induces atomic losses and heating. Micromotion is minimized by applying static electric offset fields such that both loss and heating are minimized. We achieve a compensation precision as high as the best compensation methods to date. In contrast to these methods, our scheme is applicable even for ions that cannot be optically probed. Furthermore, our method avoids the formation of temporary patch charges which are a main issue for the long-term stability of micromotion minimization.