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arXiv:2404.02102 · ACS Photonics

Atomic Magnetometry Using a Metasurface Polarizing Beamsplitter in Silicon-on-Sapphire

Xuting Yang, Pritha Mukherjee, Minjeong Kim, Hongyan Mei, Chengyu Fang, Soyeon Choi, Yuhan Tong, Sarah Perlowski, David A. Czaplewski, Alan Dibos, Mikhail A. Kats, Jennifer T. Choy

Published Sep 9, 2024• 15 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1021/acsphotonics.4c00744

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Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters•Apr 1, 2023•12 citations
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.
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.
High-performance atomic magnetometers (AMs) rely on the measurement of optical rotation, which requires a set of bulky polarization optics that limit their applications in scenarios where portability and compactness are necessary. In this study, a miniaturized AM is constructed based on a cubic 87 Rb vapor cell and monolithic metalens, which provides an integrated scheme to achieve optical rotation detection induced by the circular birefringence of polarized atoms. The designed metalens achieves polarization splitting with deflection angles of ±10 ∘ and focusing with efficiencies of approximately 30% for orthogonal linear polarizations. The sensitivity of our compact device is ∼30 fT/Hz 1/2 with a dynamic range of around ±1.45 nT. We envision that the presented approach paves the way for the chip integration of emerging atomic devices, which are in demand for applications such as biomagnetic imaging and portable atomic gyroscopes.
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.
Nonlinear resonances in alkali metal vapor, which are detected by the magneto-optical rotation of the linear polarization of light, are actively used in quantum magnetometry to fabricate atomic magnetometers. The magneto-optical rotation in most such sensors is due to magnetic birefringence, and rotation angles usually do not exceed tens of milliradians. In this work, an experiment where magneto-optical resonances of linear polarization rotation of a probe wave are due to strong dichroism induced in a medium by a counterpropagating pump wave has been proposed. Both waves are in resonance with the Fg = 2 → Fe = 1 optical transition in the 87Rb D1 line (λ ≈ 795 nm). Experiments have been carried out with a 2-cm-long cylindrical cell filled with a buffer gas, and the maximum rotation angle is ≈390 mrad (22°) at a width of resonance of about 300 nT. The results show that the configuration proposed for the observation of magneto-optical rotation is promising for the fabrication of compact high-sensitivity atomic magnetometers.
Abstract Optical magnetometers based on alkali vapors, such as rubidium, are among the most sensitive technologies for detecting and characterizing magnetic fields. Following the recent effort in miniaturizing atomic-based quantum technologies, the last years were marked by a growing interest in developing integrated quantum nanophotonic circuits for a vast range of applications. Motivated by the attractiveness of such chip-scale integration, we present and experimentally demonstrate an integrated magnetic sensing platform, based on a nanophotonic-chip interfaced to a microfabricated alkali vapor cell. Magnetically induced circular dichroism in rubidium vapor is measured using a planar structure that spatially resolves the handedness of incoming photons depending on their spin. The presented approach paves the way toward further integration of highly sensitive magnetometers, with potential for future applications, such as in high-spatial resolution magnetic vectorial imaging.
Nonlinear resonances in alkali metal vapor, which are detected by the magneto-optical rotation of the linear polarization of light, are actively used in quantum magnetometry to fabricate atomic magnetometers. The magneto-optical rotation in most such sensors is due to magnetic birefringence, and rotation angles usually do not exceed tens of milliradians. In this work, an experiment where magneto-optical resonances of linear polarization rotation of a probe wave are due to strong dichroism induced in a medium by a counterpropagating pump wave has been proposed. Both waves are in resonance with the Fg = 2 → Fe = 1 optical transition in the 87Rb D1 line (λ ≈ 795 nm). Experiments have been carried out with a 2-cm-long cylindrical cell filled with a buffer gas, and the maximum rotation angle is ≈390 mrad (22°) at a width of resonance of about 300 nT. The results show that the configuration proposed for the observation of magneto-optical rotation is promising for the fabrication of compact high-sensitivity atomic magnetometers.