  Despite the progress in building sophisticated microfabricated ion traps,
Paul traps employing needle electrodes retain their significance due to the
simplicity of fabrication while producing high-quality systems suitable for
quantum information processing, atomic clocks etc. For low noise operations
such as minimizing `excess micromotion', needles should be geometrically
straight and aligned precisely with respect to each other. Self-terminated
electrochemical etching, previously employed for fabricating ion trap needle
electrodes employs a sensitive and time-consuming technique resulting in a low
success rate of usable electrodes. Here we demonstrate an etching technique for
quick fabrication of straight and symmetric needles with a high success rate
and a simple apparatus with reduced sensitivity to alignment imperfections. The
novelty of our technique comes from using a two-step approach employing
turbulent etching for fast shaping and slow etching/polishing for subsequent
surface finish and tip cleaning. Using this technique, needle electrodes for an
ion-trap can be fabricated within a day, significantly reducing the setup time
for a new apparatus. The needles fabricated via this technique have been used
in our ion-trap to achieve trapping lifetimes of several months.
