The 3-state digital ion trap

A new type of digital ion trap is introduced, namely a Paul trap with 3-state digital driving voltages. The stability diagram has been mapped, i.e. the relative storage efficiency with respect to the trapping parameters has been measured. The results show, that the performance of the 3-state digital ion trap can be described in terms of the conventional (2-state) digital ion trap, where the trapping parameters are defined, again, according the zeroth and first order Fourier component of the driving field.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (147 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights•A Paul trap operated with a 3-state digital driving signal is introduced.•A mathematical description based on Fourier analysis is presented.•Stability diagrams are measured for different duty cycles.•This operating scheme can be used for interaction studies.