We demonstrate a microfabricated surface-electrode ion trap that is applicable as a nanofriction emulator and studies of many-body dynamics of interacting systems. The trap enables both single-well and double-well trapping potentials in the radial direction, where the distance between the two potential wells can be adjusted by the applied RF voltage. In the double-well configuration, parallel ion strings can be formed, which is a suitable system for the emulation of the Frenkel–Kontorova (FK) model. We derive the condition under which the trap functions as an FK model emulator. The trap is designed so that the Coulomb interaction between two ion strings becomes significant. We report on the microfabrication process for such downsized trap electrodes and experimental results of single-well and double-well operation with calcium ions. With the trap demonstrated in this work we can create atomically accessible, self-assembled Coulomb systems with a wide tuning range of the corrugation parameter in the FK model. This makes it a promising system for quantum simulations, but also for the study of nanofriction in one and higher dimensional systems.

我们演示了微加工的表面电极离子阱，该离子阱可用作纳米摩擦仿真器，并研究相互作用系统的多体动力学。阱可以在径向上同时启用单阱和双阱捕获电位，其中两个势阱之间的距离可以通过施加的RF电压进行调整。在双阱配置中，可以形成平行的离子串，这是用于模拟Frenkel-Kontorova（FK）模型的合适系统。我们得出了陷阱用作FK模型仿真器的条件。阱的设计使得两个离子串之间的库仑相互作用变得显着。我们报告了这种小型陷阱电极的微细加工过程以及钙离子单孔和双孔操作的实验结果。通过在这项工作中演示的陷阱，我们可以创建原子可访问的，自组装的库仑系统，该系统在FK模型中具有宽范围的波纹参数调整范围。这使得它成为用于量子模拟以及一维和更高维系统中的纳米摩擦研究的有前途的系统。