MOTion Trap Experiment

Documentation and Software

Introduction

The RF trap with integrated time-of-flight mass spectrometer developed in the group of Prof. Eric Hudson, UCLA, attracted considerable interest from several external groups. The performance of the TOFMS and the implementation of the electronics have already been described in two articles (see also my publications):

Ch. Schneider et al.: Electronics of an ion trap with integrated time-of-flight mass spectrometer. (Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 394, 1-8 (2016)) Ch. Schneider et al.: Laser-Cooling-Assisted Mass Spectrometry. (Phys. Rev. Appl. 2, 034013 (2014))

This page provides more extensive description of the internals of parts of the developed apparatus and electronics.

Control Unit Hardware

Detailled information on the control unit, its schematics, and photographs of the assembled box are provided in the following. The board layout files either in Cadsoft Eagle format or as Gerber files will be provided on request.

Manual of the MOTion Trap Control Unit (2015-10-06)

Control Unit Software

Additionally, both the firmware of the microcontroller of the control unit and a software package to communicate with the control unit over a web interface are provided. Each software package contains a README file with further information on building, installation, and usage.

The web server interface requires an Apache2 (or compatible) web server. The Apache2 standard configuration shipped, for example, with Debian GNU/Linux is fine and does not require any further steps.

Please contact me for a copy of the software.

Vacuum Apparatus

Crucial for the performance of the RF trap and time-of-flight mass spectrometer are several design considerations for the vacuum apparatus. In particular, the wiring on both vacuum and air side play an important role. The following notes and design files help new designs to be successfully adapted to the MOTion trap electronics.

RF Feedthrough Air-Side PCB Mount (2012-12-03) RF Feedthrough Air-Side PCB (2013-07-12) MOTion Apparatus Design Considerations (2015-09-25)

Important: The feedthrough PCBs need to be properly sealed with epoxy to prevent HV arcing.