A low-drift, low-noise, multichannel dc voltage source for segmented-electrode Paul traps.

Area of Science:

• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Physics
• Quantum Information Science
• Experimental Physics

Background:

• Segmented linear Paul traps are essential for trapping and manipulating ions.
• Precise control of electrode potentials is critical for stable ion confinement and coherent manipulation.
• Existing voltage sources may lack the required stability, low noise, or multichannel capability for advanced ion trap experiments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, construct, and characterize a novel multichannel DC voltage source.
• To provide stable and low-noise biasing for segmented linear Paul trap electrodes.
• To enable independent control of common-mode and differential voltages with high resolution.

Main Methods:

• Development of a custom multichannel DC voltage source architecture.
• Integration of a commercial multichannel digital-to-analog converter (DAC) unit (NI 9264).
• Characterization of voltage drift, noise performance, and spectral density.

Main Results:

• The system provides 20 independent output voltage pairs with specified common-mode (0 to +120 V) and differential (±5 V or ±16 V) ranges.
• Measured voltage drift is <1 LSB peak-to-peak over 2 hours post warm-up.
• Output voltage noise is <10 μV_RMS (10 Hz-100 kHz) with spectral density <3 nV Hz^-1/2 above 50 kHz.

Conclusions:

• The developed voltage source meets the stringent requirements for biasing segmented linear Paul traps.
• The compact, modular, and scalable design facilitates integration into experimental setups.
• Performance is currently limited by the external DAC, suggesting potential for further improvement.