Nanoparticle Stored with an Atomic Ion in a Linear Paul Trap

Radiofrequency (RF) traps enable highly controlled interactions between charged particles, including reactions between cold molecular ions, sympathetic cooling of one ion species with another, and quantum logic spectroscopy. However, the charge-to-mass ( <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:mi>Q</a:mi> <a:mo>/</a:mo> <a:mi>m</a:mi> </a:math> ) selectivity of RF traps limits the range of objects that can be confined simultaneously in the same trap. Here, we confine two particles—a nanoparticle and an atomic ion—in the same radiofrequency trap although their charge-to-mass ratios differ by six orders of magnitude. The confinement is enabled by a dual-frequency voltage applied to the trap electrodes. We introduce a robust loading procedure under ultrahigh vacuum and characterize the stability of both particles. It is observed that slow-field micromotion, an effect specific to the dual-field setting, plays a crucial role for ion localization. Our results lay the groundwork for controlled interactions between diverse charged particles, regardless of the difference in their charge or mass, with applications from antimatter synthesis to the generation of macroscopic quantum states of motion.