The control system and the automation of THe-TRAP

THe-TRAP is a double Penning trap mass spectrometer that aims at measuring the mass ratio of 3H to 3He at an uncertainty of 1 part in 1011. This quantity is a relevant parameter in the determination of the neutrino mass by the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Mass Experiment. The relevant quantities to be measured are the three eigenfrequencies of an ion in a Penning trap. This requires the computer-control of a variety of different components, such as synthesizers, power supplies, multimeters etc. Parts of these components are custom-made to meet the specifications of a high-precision mass measurement. Examples are a high-precision voltage source and the cryogenic amplifier for the detection of the ions. Combining the control of these diverse components was achieved in a program based on the programming language LabWindows/CVI. An existing version of the program and the experimental hardware were further developed to allow automation of experimental standard procedures such as loading the trap, cleaning the ion cloud from contaminations or the frequency measurements. Individual components of THe-TRAP setup as well as the basic structure of the control program are presented.