X Marks the Spot: Ions Coldly Go Through NIST Trap Junction (IMAGE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

X Marks the Spot: Ions Coldly Go Through NIST Trap Junction

Caption

The NIST X-trap is constructed from a sandwich of two diamond-shaped alumina wafers, visible in the right center of the top photo. The bottom photo shows a close-up of the wafers. Ions are created in the lower left portion of the dark grey channel, which is a trench cut through both wafers. By controlling voltages on the 46 electrodes, the ions can be shuttled along the channels and through the junction -- between the two gold-coated bridges that form the X -- while remaining much cooler than in previous experiments.

Credit

Credit: R.B. Blakestad/NIST

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