Recent developments at MLLTRAP: Improving the system for mass measurements and in-trap observation of nuclear decays

The MLLTRAP double Penning-trap setup, installed at the Maier-Leibnitz Laboratory in Garching, presently serves as an environment for development work for mass spectrometry and decay-spectroscopy experiments at future radioactive ion beam (RIB) facilities. Here, an m/q separator is presently being set up as an element for beam transport of charge-bred ions, which are required for mass measurements of highly-charged ions. Moreover, a novel type of experimental setup, dedicated to in-trap decay spectroscopy, is under development to be implemented in the future MATS facility at FAIR. It combines the high-resolution mass-purification capabilities of a Penning trap with a customized “detector-trap” setup, consisting of an arrangement of position-sensitive Si-strip detectors that replaces the conventional ring electrode of the trap, providing both, ion storage and detection of decay products. In this way, decay-spectroscopy experiments of mass-selected nuclides, trapped as a carrier-free source, thus avoiding any background or scattering effects, will become feasible via direct in situ spectroscopy of stored ions.