An ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometer with high mass resolution for cold trapped ion experiments

Area of Science:

• Physical Chemistry
• Chemical Physics
• Atomic and Molecular Physics

Background:

• Sympathetic cooling of molecular ions with laser-cooled atomic ions is crucial for cold ion chemistry.
• Understanding chemical reaction dynamics at low temperatures provides fundamental insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and characterize a novel experimental apparatus for probing chemical reaction dynamics.
• To investigate reactions between molecular cations and neutral radicals at sub-Kelvin temperatures.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a linear quadrupole radio-frequency trap for ion confinement.
• Employing sympathetic cooling with laser-cooled atomic ions.
• Coupling the ion trap to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer for species identification and ion quantification.

Main Results:

• Achieved mass resolutions of m/Δm ≥ 1100 over a wide mass range.
• Successfully characterized the performance of the ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometer system.
• Demonstrated the capability to probe chemical reactions at temperatures below 1 K.

Conclusions:

• The developed apparatus is a valuable tool for exploring cold ion chemistry.
• This system facilitates detailed studies of chemical reaction kinetics and dynamics at ultracold temperatures.
• The high performance of the mass spectrometer enables accurate analysis of reaction products.