Commissioning of a Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer for the CHIP-TRAP Penning trap apparatus

The Central Michigan University (CMU) is developing the CMU High Precision Penning trap (CHIP-TRAP) for precise mass measurements on stable and long-lived radioactive isotopes. The system includes a laser ablation source (LAS) and a Penning ion trap source (PITS) to generate ions from solid and gaseous samples. To improve efficiency and sensitivity, a multi-reflection time-of-flight mass separator (MR-TOF-MS) is implemented to remove contaminant ions before reaching the Penning trap. The MR-TOF-MS uses electrostatic mirror electrodes to reflect ions, increasing their path length and enabling separation based on m/q ratio. A Bradbury-Nielsen gate will allow only desired ions to pass through. CHIP-TRAP features two hyperbolic precision measurement traps for simultaneous cyclotron frequency comparisons and a cylindrical capture trap for identification and elimination of contaminant ions. All traps will be held in a 12 T magnetic field and maintained at 4 K using a pulse tube cryocooler. This presentation will cover the latest developments in the design, construction, and testing of the ion sources, beamline, and cryocooler in the CHIP-TRAP project. It will provide updates on the overall progress of the project, including the assembly, fabrication, and commissioning of the MR-TOF-MS. Initial results from the MR-TOF-MS will be presented, focusing on the technical aspects and the scientific significance of the research.