Chip assembly and method of making a chip assembly

A method of fabricating an ion microtrap chip assembly, including an ion microtrap chip having a chip substrate, and one or more micro-structures disposed on the chip substrate, the method including:

• forming one or more first alignment elements directly into the chip substrate;
• forming one or more second alignment elements in a given micro-structure of the one or more micro-structures, wherein the first and second alignment elements are one of recesses and protrusions and locating the given micro-structure on the chip substrate with at least one second alignment element keyed to at least one of the first alignment elements;
• affixing the given micro-structure in position relative to the chip substrate whereby the first and second alignment elements are keyed to fix the given micro-structure to the chip substrate in all directions in a plane of the given micro-structure;
• and
• wherein the chip substrate is crystalline, and wherein the at least one of the one or more first alignment elements is formed along a crystal plane of the chip substrate.

An ion microtrap chip assembly comprising:

• a 3D ion microtrap chip with a chip substrate;
• one or more first alignment elements formed directly on the chip substrate;
• one or more micro-structures having one or more second alignment elements formed directly on a given micro-structure of the one or more micro-structures;
• wherein the one or more first alignment elements and one or more second alignment elements are recesses or protrusions;
• and
• wherein the given micro-structure being disposed on the chip substrate with at least one first alignment element keyed to at least one second alignment element, whereby the first and second alignment elements are keyed to fix the given micro-structure to the chip substrate of the 3D ion microtrap chip in all directions in a plane of the ion microtrap chip assembly and thereby to affix in alignment the micro-structure to the ion microtrap chip assembly.