  We present the characterization of a prototype surface-electrode (SE) trap as
a first step towards the realization of a compact, single-ion optical clock
based on Yb$^+$. The use of a SE trap will be a key factor to benefit from
clean-room fabrication techniques and technological advances made in the field
of quantum information processing. We succesfully demonstrated trapping at a
500 $\mu$m electrodes distance and characterized our trap in terms of lifetime
and heating rate. This is to our knowledge the highest distance achieved for
heating rates measurements in SE traps. This simple 5-wire design realized with
simple materials yields a heating rate of $\mathbf{8\times 10^3}$ phonons/s. We
provide an analysis of the performances of this prototype trap for optical
frequency metrology.
