Cryogenic keV ion-beam storage in ConeTrap—A tool for ion-temperature control

We have tested the ion-storage capabilities of the compact triple-electrode electrostatic ion-beam trap, ConeTrap, down to cryogenic temperatures. The low-temperature operation of this electrostatic storage device is an important test for the double electrostatic ion-ring experiment, DESIREE, which is presently under construction at Stockholm University. In the present work we measured the pressure dependent storage lifetimes of 2.5 keV He+ and 2.8 keV Ar+ ion beams in ConeTrap at temperatures down to 28 K and pressures down to 1.3×10−10mbar. The so far longest measured ion storage lifetime using this system is 21.5±3.8 s for Ar+ ions. The present combination of ConeTrap and the cryogenic experimental chamber was recently applied in the first black-body-correction free measurement of the lifetime of the metastable He− ion at 10 K [1].