Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme

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MS: Fachverband Massenspektrometrie

MS 1: Precision Mass Spectrometry 1

MS 1.5: Talk

Monday, March 23, 2015, 12:45–13:00, PH/HS2

Image charge shift simulations for Penning traps and current status of THe-Trap — •Marc Schuh, Tommi Eronen, Martin Höcker, Jochen Ketter, Tom Segal, Sebastian Streubel, and Klaus Blaum — Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg

THe-Trap is a precision Penning-trap mass spectrometer [1] at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik in Heidelberg. While the main goal is to measure the tritium/helium-3 mass ratio with a relative uncertainty of 10 parts per trillion (ppt), the experiment is not limited to the measurement of mass doublets. In 2014 we reported a measurement of the mass ratio of carbon-12 to oxygen-16 with an uncertainty of 120 ppt, limited by systematic uncertainties [2]. Within the last year we were able to reduce the systematic uncertainties down to a few ten ppt through increased ion lifetimes and lower motional amplitudes. Further, the electrostatic properties of THe-Trap were investigated by extensive finite element simulations performed with Comsol Multiphysics. One limiting effect for the mass measurements of non mass doublets are the image charges on the electrodes created by the ion present in the trap. It is possible to simulate this effect reliably. The result is in excellent agreement with experimental values [1].

[1] R.S. Van Dyck Jr., International journal of mass spectrometry (2006), doi:10.1016/j.ijms.2006.01.038

[2] S. Streubel et al., Appl. Phys. B, doi:10.1007/s00340-013-5669-x