A 3-dimensional scanning trapped-ion probe

TL;DR

This paper introduces a three-dimensional trapped-ion probe using a Penning trap, enabling detailed electric and magnetic field mapping near surfaces with high spatial resolution, surpassing previous RF-based limitations.

Contribution

The work presents a novel 3D ion scanning technique with a Penning trap, expanding spatial scanning capabilities and enabling comprehensive surface field mapping.

Findings

Achieved 3D electric and magnetic field mapping near metallic surfaces.

Demonstrated charge distribution and noise mapping on a metallic surface.

Enabled scanning over a 200x200 μm² area at distances of 50-450 μm.

Abstract

Single-atom quantum sensors offer high spatial resolution and high sensitivity to electric and magnetic fields. Among them, trapped ions offer exceptional performance in sensing electric fields, which has been used in particular to probe these in the proximity of metallic surfaces. However, the flexibility of previous work was limited by the use of radio-frequency trapping fields, which has restricted spatial scanning to linear translations, and calls into question whether observed phenomena are connected to the presence of the radio-frequency fields. Here, using a Penning trap instead, we demonstrate a single ion probe which offers three-dimensional position scanning at distances between $50$ $\mu\mathrm{m}$ and $450$ $\mu\mathrm{m}$ from a metallic surface and above a $200\times200$ $\mu\mathrm{m}^{2}$ area, allowing us to reconstruct static and time-varying electric as well as magnetic fields. We use this to map charge distributions on the metallic surface and noise stemming from it. The methods demonstrated here allow similar probing to be carried out on samples with a variety of materials, surface constitutions and geometries, providing a new tool for surface science.