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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Experimental Methods for Trapping Ions Using Microfabricated Surface Ion Traps
Published on: August 17, 2017
Photon-trap spectroscopy of mass-selected ions in an ion trap: optical absorption and magneto-optical effects
Akira Terasaki1, Takuya Majima, Tamotsu Kondow
1Cluster Research Laboratory, Toyota Technological Institute in East Tokyo Laboratory, Genesis Research Institute, Inc., 717-86 Futamata, Ichikawa, Chiba 272-0001, Japan. terasaki@clusterlab.jp
Abstract:
A novel experimental technique has been developed to observe a trace of optical absorption of free mass-selected ions. The technique combines a linear radio-frequency ion trap with a high-finesse optical cavity to perform cavity ring-down spectroscopy (photon-trap spectroscopy for generality), where the storage lifetime of photons in the cavity provides a sensitivity high enough to probe the trapped ions. Absorption spectra of the manganese ion Mn(+) are presented, showing hyperfine structures for the (7)P(2,3,4)<--(7)S(3) transitions in the ultraviolet range. Implementation of a solenoidal magnet allows us to observe the Zeeman splitting and the Faraday rotation as well.
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