Ion trap with gold-plated alumina: substrate and surface characterization

TL;DR

This paper details the development and characterization of a segmented-blade linear ion trap with a gold-plated alumina substrate, focusing on fabrication processes, surface quality, and successful trapping of Ytterbium ions.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive fabrication process for a segmented-blade ion trap with detailed substrate and surface characterization, demonstrating effective ion trapping.

Findings

Alumina substrate characterized with X-ray diffraction and loss-tangent measurements.

Surface roughness examined at each fabrication step using electron and optical microscopy.

Successful trapping of laser-cooled $^{174}$Yb$^{+}$ ions near the gold-plated surface.

Abstract

We describe a complete development process of a segmented-blade linear ion trap. Alumina substrate is characterized with an X-ray diffraction and loss-tangent measurement. The blade is laser-micromachined and polished, followed by the sputtering and gold electroplating. Surface roughness is examined at each step of the fabrication via both electron and optical microscopies. On the gold-plated facet, we obtain a height deviation of tens of nanometers in the vicinity of the ion position. Trapping of laser-cooled $^{174}$Yb$^{+}$ ions is demonstrated.