Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 227, 445–456 (2018)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2018-00105-x

Regular Article

A double Paul trap system for the electronic coupling of ions

¹ Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
² Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

^a Present address: Department of Applied Physics, School of Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
^b e-mail: danielrodriguez@ugr.es

Received: 2 November 2017
Received in final form: 9 March 2018
Published online: 28 September 2018

Abstract

We report on the progress towards the implementation of a double trap system for the coupling of ion clouds stored in different traps through the charges they induce in a common electrode. The two traps have cylindrical symmetry and can be used either as Penning or Paul traps. The laser system for Doppler cooling of ⁴⁰Ca⁺ clouds is described. The cooling can be performed differentially in the two traps, aiming at the study of the coupling between two clouds of ions at different temperatures. This setup is the starting point for the realization of energy transfer between two Doppler-cooled ions stored in different traps. We report on the status of the experiment and evaluate the performance required for an efficient coupling.