Real-Time Trajectory Control of Deterministically Produced Ions
Résumé
The major challenge to improve deterministic single-ion sources is to control the position and momentum of each ion. On the basis of the extra information given by the electron created in a photoionization process, the trajectory of the correlated ion can be corrected with use of a fast real-time feedback system. In this paper, we report on a proof-of-principle experiment that demonstrates the performance of this feedback control with individual cesium ions. The electron produced is detected with a time- and position-sensitive detector, the information from which is used to quickly infer the position of the corresponding ion. Then the feedback system drives the ion trajectory through steering plates, and the individual ion can thus be sent to any dedicated location. This enables us to perform deterministic patterning and achieve a factor-of-1000 reduction in spot area. The single-ion feedback control is versatile and can be applied to different kinds of ion sources. It provides a powerful tool to optimize the ion beam and offers a complete portfolio for quantum systems and applications in materials science.