Production and storage of low-energy highly charged ions by laser ablation and an ion trap

Low-energy multiply charged ions of the refractory elements tungsten and molybdenum have been produced and stored using a novel technique that couples laser ablation with a radio-frequency ion trap. The charge states of the ions stored range from q=+1 to +4 for tungsten and from q=+1 to +6 for molybdenum. Approximately 10⁵ ions with energy less than 5×{}10^-3 eV/amu are stored for a period in excess of 2 s. The technique can be used to store low-energy multiply charged ions of almost any element.