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Updated: May 27, 2026

Experimental Methods for Trapping Ions Using Microfabricated Surface Ion Traps
Published on: August 17, 2017
Laser spectroscopy on forbidden transitions in trapped highly charged Ar(13+) ions
V Mäckel1, R Klawitter, G Brenner
1Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. maeckel@mpi-hd.mpg.de
Abstract:
We demonstrate resonant fluorescence laser spectroscopy in highly charged ions (HCI) stored in an electron beam ion trap by investigating the dipole-forbidden 1s(2)2s(2)2p (2)P(3/2)-(2)P(1/2) transition in boronlike Ar(13+) ions. Forced evaporative cooling yielded a high resolving power, resulting in an accurate wavelength determination to λ=441.255 68(26) nm. By applying stronger cooling and two-photon excitation, new optical frequency standards based upon ultrastable transitions in such HCI could be realized in the future, e.g., for the search of time variations of the fine-structure constant.
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