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arXiv:2210.04952 · Optics Express

Analysis of atomic magnetometry using metasurface optics for balanced polarimetry

Xuting Yang, Meryem Benelajla, S. Carpenter, Jennifer T. Choy

Published Mar 21, 2023• 30 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Atomic magnetometry is one of the most sensitive field-measurement techniques for biological, geo-surveying, and navigational applications. An essential process in atomic magnetometry is measurement of optical polarization rotation of a near-resonant beam due to its interaction with atomic spins under an external magnetic field. In this work, we present the design and analysis of a silicon-metasurface-based polarization beam splitter that have been tailored for operation in a rubidium magnetometer. The metasurface polarization beam splitter operates at a wavelength of 795 nm and has a transmission efficiency > 83% and a polarization extinction ratio > 20 dB. We show that these performance specifications are compatible with magnetometer operation in miniaturized vapor cells with sub-picotesla-level sensitivity and discuss the prospect of realizing compact, high-sensitivity atomic magnetometers with nanophotonic component integration.

DOI
10.1364/oe.486311

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•Jul 19, 2022•0 citations
Atomic magnetometry is one of the most sensitive field-measurement techniques for biological, geo-surveying, and navigational applications. An essential process in atomic magnetometry is measurement of optical polarization rotation of a near-resonant beam due to its interaction with atomic spins under an external magnetic field. In this work, we present the design and analysis of a silicon-metasurface-based polarization beam splitter that have been tailored for operation in a rubidium magnetometer. The metasurface polarization beam splitter operates at a wavelength of 795 nm and has a transmission efficiency > 83% and a polarization extinction ratio > 20 dB. We show that these performance specifications are compatible with magnetometer operation in miniaturized vapor cells with sub-picotesla-level sensitivity and discuss the prospect of realizing compact, high-sensitivity atomic magnetometers with nanophotonic component integration.
We demonstrate atomic magnetometry using a metasurface polarizing beamsplitter fabricated on a silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) platform. The metasurface splits a beam that is near-resonant with the rubidium atoms (795 nm) into orthogonal linear polarizations, enabling the measurement of magnetically sensitive circular birefringence in rubidium vapor through balanced polarimetry. We incorporated the metasurface into an atomic magnetometer based on nonlinear magneto-optical rotation and measured subnanotesla sensitivity, which is limited by low-frequency technical noise and transmission loss through the metasurface. To our knowledge, this work represents the first demonstration of SOS nanophotonics for atom-based sensing and paves the way for highly integrated, miniaturized atomic sensors with enhanced sensitivity and portability.
Emerging atomic magnetometers (AMs) are among the most advanced sensors for detecting and characterizing magnetic fields. Recently, there has been growing interest in the miniaturization and integration of AMs due to the urgent demand for portability and compactness in various fields such as biomagnetism imaging. While conventional AMs require a bulky setup of optical devices for the pumping and optical readout of atomic spin, here, a novel chip-scale single-beam AM scheme is proposed by leveraging extreme transmissive circular polarization dichroism (TCPD) and geometric phase manipulation of spin-selective interference meta-optics. This is achieved through silicon-based metasurfaces that enable the realization of arbitrary-to-circular polarization conversion and wavefront modulation within a monolithic chip at Rb D1 transition wavelength (λ = 795 nm). Two spin-selective interference metasurfaces, i.e., meta-circular-polarizer (MCP) and meta-circular-polarizer-lens (MCPL), are fabricated and characterized, with a measured TCPD of 0.68 for the MCP as well as focusing efficiency and TCPD of around 70.67% and 0.69 for the MCPL, respectively. As a proof of concept, a 4 × 4 × 4 mm 3 Rb vapor cell is combined with our metasurface to construct a miniaturized single-beam AM. The sensitivity of our compact metasurface-based system is about 15 fT/Hz 1/2, with a dynamic range near zero-field of ± 2.2 nT. We envision that this work could facilitate the development of burgeoning chip-scale quantum sensors, which hold great potential for high-spatial-resolution biomagnetic imaging, on-chip nuclear magnetic resonance, and so forth.
Abstract The powerful light field manipulation capability of metasurfaces offers a novel development perspective for the quantum precision measurement. By applying the phase-gradient metasurface (PGM) to atomic magnetometers (AMs), we have proposed and experimentally demonstrated a new type of compact single-beam elliptically polarized atomic magnetometers (EPAMs). Employing the fabricated chiral beam splitter PGM with high cross-polarization transmittance, a new atomic spin chirality detection method was devised, enabling the ultra-high sensitivity for extremely weak magnetic field measurement and achieving a high sensitivity of 2.67 pT/Hz1/2 under an external magnetic field of approximately 10,000 nT. The new AMs combine the pumping and probing polarized light, achieving a compact design. The fabricated PGM has a size of only 3 mm × 3 mm × 0.7 mm, which is beneficial for the miniaturization and integration of AMs. This work effectively expands the application of metasurfaces in the field of quantum precision measurement, and also provides a new viewpoint for the design and development of high-sensitivity and miniaturized AMs.
Spin-exchange relaxation free alkali-metal magnetometers typically operate in the regime of high optical density, presenting challenges for simple and efficient optical pumping and detection. We describe a high-sensitivity Rb magnetometer using a single elliptically polarized off-resonant laser beam. Circular component of the light creates relatively uniform spin polarization while the linear component is used to measure optical rotation generated by the atoms. Modulation of the atomic spin direction with an oscillating magnetic field shifts the detected signal to high frequencies. Using a fiber-coupled distributed feedback laser, we achieve magnetic field sensitivity of 7 fT/Hz7\text{ }\text{fT}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}7 fT/Hz​ with a miniature $5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}5\text{ }\text{mm}\text{ }\text{Rb}$ vapor cell.
We demonstrate an ultra-high sensitivity rf optical magnetometer based on a compact 5×5×8 mm3 Rubidium-87 vapor cell in a mu-metal shielded environment. The rf field is detected via a Faraday rotation effect on the linear polarization of a probe beam, and the resonance frequency is tuned via Zeeman effect by applying a static bias magnetic field to the cell. Sensitivities down to 3 fT/√Hz are achieved between 10 kHz and 100 kHz, which is a performance comparable to that of prior larger cells. An increase in the sensitivity with frequency and temperature has been observed.