Carbon cluster ions for a study of the accuracy of ISOLTRAP

Cyclotron frequency measurements of singly charged carbon clusters $^{12}$C$_{n}^{+}$ were carried out with the ISOLTRAP apparatus. The carbon cluster ions were produced externally by use of laser- induced desorption, fragmentation, and ionization of C$_{60}$ fullerenes. They were injected into and stored in the Penning trap system. The observation of carbon clusters of different sizes has provided detailed insight into the final mass uncertainty achievable with ISOLTRAP and yielded a value of $u(m)/m = 8 \times 10^{-9}$. Since the unified atomic mass unit is defined as 1/12 the mass of the $^{12}$C atom, ISOLTRAP can now be used to carry out absolute mass measurements.