# A high resolution ion microscope for cold atoms

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a high-resolution ion microscope capable of imaging ultracold atoms with nanometer precision, enabling advanced studies of quantum gases and Rydberg molecules.

## Contribution

It presents the design, simulation, and experimental realization of a novel ion-optical microscope with high magnification and resolution for cold atom research.

## Key findings

- Achieved spatial resolution down to 100 nm.
- Demonstrated imaging of structures as small as 2.7 μm.
- Validated the microscope's suitability for many-body quantum studies.

## Abstract

We report on an ion-optical system that serves as a microscope for ultracold ground state and Rydberg atoms. The system is designed to achieve a magnification of up to 1000 and a spatial resolution in the 100 nm range, thereby surpassing many standard imaging techniques for cold atoms. The microscope consists of four electrostatic lenses and a microchannel plate in conjunction with a delay line detector in order to achieve single particle sensitivity with high temporal and spatial resolution. We describe the design process of the microscope including ion-optical simulations of the imaging system and characterize aberrations and the resolution limit. Furthermore, we present the experimental realization of the microscope in a cold atom setup and investigate its performance by patterned ionization with a structure size down to 2.7 {\mu}m. The microscope meets the requirements for studying various many-body effects, ranging from correlations in cold quantum gases up to Rydberg molecule formation.