Current Development and Status of the CHIPTRAP Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer

The Central Michigan University High Precision Penning Trap mass spectrometer (CHIP-TRAP) is being constructed to perform precise mass measurements with stable and long-lived isotopes. Applications include electron capture decay Q value determinations for ¹⁶³Ho and ⁷Be with applications to neutrino physics. CHIP-TRAP employs two external ion sources: a Penning Ion Trap (PIT) source that can ionize gaseous samples, and a Laser Ablation Source (LAS) for solid target materials. After production, ions are transported at 1 keV to an MR-TOF mass separator that will be used to isolate ions of different m/q before being transported to the Penning traps. The CHIP-TRAP will have two hyperbolic precision measurement traps for simultaneous cyclotron frequency comparisons with single ions of different species. It will also employ a cylindrical capture trap for elimination of contaminant ions. All three traps will be situated in a 12 T magnetic field and maintained at 4 K temperature using a pulse tube cryocooler. Currently the capture trap has been installed, and commissioning via image charge detection of ions in the trap is underway. In this presentation, we will provide an update on the operation of the ion sources, capture trap, cryocooling system and initial commissioning of the MR-TOF.