Trapped electron cloud bolometer relying on frequency shift.

An improved electron cloud bolometer is analyzed. In this device the cloud temperature is read out not via thermal noise induced by the electrons in a coupled LC circuit but via shift in their axial oscillation frequency in the Penning trap confining them. This shift occurs because as the electron cloud expands with increasing temperature, the average restoring force in the slightly anharmonic trap does change perceptibly. The scheme will be useful in exploring the microwave mode structure of the trap cavity and in locating magnetic field values for which the cavity-induced shift in the measured electron g factor disappears.