Planar multipole ion trap

We report on the realization of a chip-based multipole ion trap manufactured using microelectromechanical systems technology, requiring minimal manual alignment of the electrodes. It provides ion confinement in an almost field-free volume between two planes of radiofrequency electrodes, deposited on glass substrates, which allows for optical access to the trap. An analytical model of the effective trapping potential is presented and compared with numerical calculations. Stable trapping of argon ions is achieved, and a lifetime of 16 s is measured. Electrostatic charging of the chip surfaces is studied and found to agree with a numerical estimate.