Note: New design of a cryogenic linear radio frequency multipole trap

Abstract

A new design of a cryogenic linear 22-pole ion trap has been constructed and tested. It is essentially a copper housing to which opposite inner walls two electrode sets are attached via sapphire insulators. These stainless steel electrodes are electroformed in one piece to guarantee good heat conduction. Connected to an external coil, they form an LC -circuit of about 19 MHz resonance frequency. This circuit is excited with a rf power supply made of a commercial digital synthesizer followed by a 10 W amplifier. Buffer gas-cooled H2 D+ ions have been stored in this trap at a nominal trap temperature of 14 K. Spectroscopy of the ions confirmed that the kinetic (Doppler) temperature is in reasonable agreement with this value. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.