Experimental investigation of the repelling force from RF carpets

• Detailed experimental investigation of the repelling force from RF carpets.
• Observed a good agreement with the theoretical description.
• Found the existence of an optimal pressure for the operation of RF carpets.

The theoretical description for the ion motion above a radio-frequency carpet was proposed in [S. Schwarz, Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 299 (2011) 71], and using this description, the maximal repelling force created by the RF carpet that leads to stable ion motion can be determined. The predicted changes in the repelling force were experimentally tested for different RF amplitudes, helium gas pressures, and electric push field strength that the RF carpet is counteracting. We observed good overall agreement between the experimental and the theoretical descriptions.

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