Planar geometry for trapping and separating ions and charged particles.

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Analytical Chemistry
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Ion traps are crucial for mass spectrometry and fundamental physics research.
• Existing ion trap designs often have limitations in operating range or integration capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a planar quadrupole ion trap with an extended operating range.
• To showcase the potential for integrating this trap into microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and integrated circuits (ICs).

Main Methods:

• A planar quadrupole ion trap with a 1 mm radius was designed and fabricated.
• Experiments were conducted to determine the trapping range of ions and particles by mass-to-charge ratio and operating parameters.
• Mass spectrometry was performed to evaluate the trap's resolution and mass range.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated trapping of ions and particles with mass-to-charge ratios from 10^2 to 10^9.
• Achieved operation across a wide range of frequencies (2.8 x 10^6 to 60 Hz) and pressures (1.1 x 10^-4 to 760 Torr).
• Performed mass spectrometry with a resolution of 1.2 amu and a mass-to-charge range of 50 to 150.

Conclusions:

• The proposed planar quadrupole ion trap exhibits an unprecedentedly large operating range.
• The simple geometry facilitates integration with ICs and MEMS devices.
• This opens avenues for novel hybrid applications and experiments in various scientific fields.