Low stray-field ion pump configuration for cold atom experiments

Abstract

Ion pumps used in cold-atom experiments generate stray magnetic fields that can perturb magneto-optical trapping, shift Zeeman sensitive energy levels, and introduce systematic errors in precision spectroscopy. We numerically investigate a compact low-stray-field ion pump configuration designed to reduce magnetic flux leakage through the ultrahigh-vacuum port without increasing the overall pump size. Starting from a simplified magnetic model of a standard ion pump, we study two complementary modifications: auxiliary permanent magnets surrounding the original pump magnets with opposite magnetisation, and a soft-magnetic honeycomb field stopper integrated at the pump port. The resulting combined configuration strongly reduces the magnetic flux density outside the pump. In the geometry considered here, the field at 10 mm from the UHV port is reduced by 97.9%, while the calculated reduction in effective pumping speed due to the honeycomb stopper is 17.9%. These results indicate that engineered magnetic compensation and field-guiding structures can support more compact cold-atom vacuum systems while preserving pumping performance. Further work should validate the design with nonlinear magnetostatic modelling, molecular-flow simulations, and measurements on a complete pump geometry.