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arXiv:0705.1671 · Journal of the Optical Society of America B

All optical sensor for automated magnetometry based on coherent population trapping

Jacopo Belfi, G. Bevilacqua, V. Biancalana, Yordanka V. Dancheva, L. Moi

Published Jun 15, 2007• 38 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

An automated magnetometer suitable for long lasting measurement under stable and controllable experimental conditions has been implemented. The device is based on coherent population trapping (CPT) produced by a multifrequency excitation. CPT resonance is observed when a frequency comb, generated by diode laser current modulation, excites Cs atoms confined in a π/4×(2.5)2×1 cm3, 2 TorrN2 buffered cell. A fully optical sensor is connected through an optical fiber to the laser head allowing for truly remote sensing and minimization of the field perturbation. A detailed analysis of the CPT resonance parameters as a function of the optical detuning has been made in order to get high sensitivity measurements. The magnetic field monitoring performances and the best sensitivity obtained in a balanced differential configuration of the sensor are presented.

DOI
10.1364/josab.24.001482

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An automated magnetometer suitable for long lasting measurement under stable and controllable experimental conditions has been implemented. The device is based on coherent population trapping (CPT) produced by a multifrequency excitation. CPT resonance is observed when a frequency comb, generated by diode laser current modulation, excites Cs atoms confined in a π/4×(2.5)2×1 cm3, 2 TorrN2 buffered cell. A fully optical sensor is connected through an optical fiber to the laser head allowing for truly remote sensing and minimization of the field perturbation. A detailed analysis of the CPT resonance parameters as a function of the optical detuning has been made in order to get high sensitivity measurements. The magnetic field monitoring performances and the best sensitivity obtained in a balanced differential configuration of the sensor are presented.
A fully automated magnetometer suitable for long lasting measurement under stable and controllable experimental conditions has been implemented. The device is based on Coherent Population Trapping (CPT) effect produced by a multi-frequency excitation. It has an all optical sensor connected only by an optical fiber to the laser head. This allows truly remote sensing and minimization of the field perturbation. The CPT resonance is observed when a frequency comb, generated by a diode laser current modulation, excites a sample of Cs atoms confined in a cell with 2 Torr of buffer gas. In differential sensor configuration, allowing for common-mode noise cancellation, the sensitivity of 45pT/square root of Hz is obtained.
We have set up a coherent population trapping (CPT)-based magnetometer prototype with the D1 line of ⁸⁷Rb atoms. The dichromatic light field is derived from a fiber electro-optic modulator (FEOM) connected to an external cavity laser diode. A CPT resonance signal with a 516 Hz linewidth is observed. By feeding back the derivative of the resonance curve to the FEOM with a proportional integral controller, of which the voltage output is directly converted to the measured magnetic field intensity, the resonance peak is locked to the environmental magnetic field. The measurement data we have achieved are well matched with the data measured by a commercial fluxgate magnetometer within 2 nT, and the sensitivity is better than 8 pT/√Hz in a parallel B field.
We demonstrate a new mechanism, suitable for performing remote earth field measurement using synchronous modulation of two laser fields, which are two-photon resonant with the sodium atom’s hyperfine ground states. This mechanism relies on coherent population trapping (CPT), and thus, called the synchronous CPT scheme. We have measured the magnetic resonances in fluorescence from a sodium cell to demonstrate suitability of this scheme for remote magnetometry. A strong magnetic resonance with its dip corresponding to the Larmor frequency is produced in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. To estimate the optimal duty cycle of light modulation for attaining high performance, we measured the amplitudes and linewidths of the magnetic resonance as a function of the duty cycle, by keeping the peak intensity in CPT fields constant.
We have experimentally investigated the potential of narrow coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances for precision applications like magnetometry or atomic frequency standards, using the D lines in thermal Cs or Rb vapor. The magnetometer operates by monitoring the position of the Zeeman-shifted outermost resonance component. The central Zeeman component is well suited for frequency standard applications because its position is shifted by magnetic fields only in second order. We derive the required pair of laser fields form a special diode laser by direct modulation of the injection current. Magneto metric sensitivity down to a picotesla and 10-12 relative instability for a finger-sized clock have been achieved in this way. Use of a magnetic gradiometer allows to cancel fluctuations of ambient magnetic fields to a large degree, making possible sensitive measurements even outside magnetically shielded rooms.
A sensor for magnetic field measurement is developed using a small (centimeter size) rubidium cell. A high contrast Zeeman coherent population trapping (CPT) resonance is produced by the magnetic dither in the sensor solenoid, and a peak-locked servo is implemented for magnetic field measurement. Sensitivity close to 110 pT/ √Hz has been achieved in axial field measurement. The CPT-based magnetic sensor is capable of measuring sub-nanotesla level magnetic field variations at high (microtesla) field strength. We discussed possible sources of noise and broadening which are affecting the performance of the sensor, and suggest changes that will further improve the performance of the sensor.
A glass lithium vapor cell is an atomic sensor operating at high temperature. The longitudinal magnetic-field strength is measured by coherent population trapping (CPT) in ground-state hyperfine levels. Two linearly polarized light beams are polarized orthogonally to each other. The difference of optical frequencies is tuned to generate a dark state. Additionally, a few light modes of equidistant frequency spacing are generated by modulating the difference frequency. The symmetry of the light modes and the energy levels enables simultaneous measurement of the hyperfine splitting frequency of the ground state and the magnetic-field strength. Tuning the optical frequency difference to the central CPT resonance, a sensitivity of 15 p T / H z is achieved. The time response and the sensitivity of the CPT magnetometry are studied by changing the cell temperature, the laser power, the frequency separation of the light modes, and the Zeeman frequency.