SPECTROSCOPY AND QUANTUM OPTICS WITH ION TRAPS

A review is given of the use of trapped atomic ions for spectroscopy a nd for quantum optics. The article discusses the principles of operati on of the different types of traps, and their advantages for work in t hese fields, including the use of laser cooling of trapped ions. Aspec ts of laser cooling are demonstrated with the help of a numerical simu lation program. Then the use of spectroscopic techniques to study the oscillation frequencies of trapped ions is discussed. Finally a number of different experiments illustrating the application of trapped ions to quantum optics are presented.