Method and apparatus for highly sensitive spectroscopy of trapped ions
US4982088A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 2, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jan 1, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 2, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J49/38
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus and method are disclosed for detection of spectra of internal transitions via ion cyclotron resonance techniques. Details of ion containment in a Penning trap and coupling of spin to spatial motions by the addition of a magnetic bottle field are described in both calssical and quantum mechanical formalisms. The invention alters the axial motion of a single ion with a train of spin flips and monitors magnetic resonance through changes in the cyclotron frequency. Detection of such a signal for a single ion (or a small cloud) provides a sensitivity increase of ten to twenty orders of magnitude over conventional magnetic resonance techniques.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.