A high-voltage amplifier for traveling-wave Stark deceleration

Area of Science:

• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Physical Chemistry
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Stark deceleration uses electric fields to slow molecules, traditionally requiring simple high-voltage switches.
• A continuous version of Stark deceleration offers improved performance but needs complex chirped sinusoidal voltages.
• Existing electronics for this technique are complex, limiting its widespread adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a high-voltage linear amplifier suitable for traveling-wave Stark deceleration.
• To address the challenge of creating amplifiers with a wide frequency range and high current output.
• To facilitate the implementation of continuous Stark deceleration for molecular beam manipulation.

Main Methods:

• Design and construction of a novel high-voltage linear amplifier.
• Characterization of the amplifier's gain, output voltage, current capabilities, and frequency response.
• Integration of the amplifier for driving in-vacuum electrodes in a traveling-wave Stark decelerator.

Main Results:

• The amplifier achieves a gain of 12,000 and output voltages up to ±10 kV.
• It provides instantaneous currents up to 1.5 A, sufficient for capacitive loads.
• The amplifier operates across a frequency range from 30 kHz down to DC.

Conclusions:

• The developed high-voltage linear amplifier is well-suited for traveling-wave Stark deceleration.
• This technology enables the deceleration of supersonic molecular beams to rest.
• The amplifier simplifies the electronics, potentially broadening the accessibility of advanced molecular beam studies.