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arXiv:2604.26721

Fast, powerful, low-noise optical pumping of an atomic vapor with semiconductor optical amplifiers

Diana Méndez-Avalos, Théo Louzada Meireles, Morgan W. Mitchell, Aleksandra Sierant

physics.atom-phphysics.opticsquant-phSubmitted Apr 29, 2026• Announced Apr 30, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We use a $^{87}\text{Rb}$ atomic vapor, suitable for an optically-pumped magnetometer (OPM) in Earth-field conditions, to study the noise properties of three strategies for generating pulsed optical pumping. We compare a frequency-modulated (FM) laser, amplitude modulation (AM) via an acousto-optic modulator (AOM), and amplitude modulation via a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). Pumping the ensemble to operate as a Bell-Bloom OPM, and with an equal degree of spin polarization, the three methods give nearly identical sensitivity, showing that the SOA, despite being an active device, can introduce negligible additional noise. Pumping the ensemble to operate as a free-induction-decay OPM, we observe longer unpumped coherence times with the SOA-AM method than with the FM method. Finally, using the higher power available from the SOA, we demonstrate an environment-limited sensitivity of $80\text{fT}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ at $600\text{Hz}$ and 200fT$200\text{fT}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ at $4\text{kHz}$, one to two orders of magnitude beyond what was achievable with the other pumping methods.

Comments
7 pages, 4 figures

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We use a 87Rb^{87}\text{Rb}87Rb atomic vapor, suitable for an optically-pumped magnetometer (OPM) in Earth-field conditions, to study the noise properties of three strategies for generating pulsed optical pumping. We compare a frequency-modulated (FM) laser, amplitude modulation (AM) via an acousto-optic modulator (AOM), and amplitude modulation via a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). Pumping the ensemble to operate as a Bell-Bloom OPM, and with an equal degree of spin polarization, the three methods give nearly identical sensitivity, showing that the SOA, despite being an active device, can introduce negligible additional noise. Pumping the ensemble to operate as a free-induction-decay OPM, we observe longer unpumped coherence times with the SOA-AM method than with the FM method. Finally, using the higher power available from the SOA, we demonstrate an environment-limited sensitivity of 80fT/Hz80\text{fT}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}80fT/Hz​ at 600Hz600\text{Hz}600Hz and 200fT200fT/Hz200\text{fT}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}200fT/Hz​ at 4kHz4\text{kHz}4kHz, one to two orders of magnitude beyond what was achievable with the other pumping methods.
We demonstrate an all-optical single beam pulsed atomic magnetometer assisted by laser mode-hopping in a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser. We implement a temporal sequence of the laser current, with sinusoidal current modulation including the laser mode-hop current for synchronous optical pumping, and a following constant current for paramagnetic Faraday rotation measurements, to probe the free induction decay (FID) of transverse 87^{87}87Rb spin polarization. Repetitive sudden frequency shifts of 20 GHz around the pressure-broadened 87^{87}87Rb spectra, originating from laser mode-hopping, enable discontinuous optical pumping modulation with a large depth, which enhances transverse spin polarization. We achieved a sensitivity of 0.6 pT/Hz1/2^{1/2}1/2 in a magnetic field of 27 μμμT, mainly limited by the photon-shot-noise and the magnetic field noise induced by the current noise in the current supply for driving the bias magnetic field coil. The Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) of the sensitivity due to the non-magnetic noise such as photon shot-noise is 131 fT/Hz1/2^{1/2}1/2. Our approach based on laser mode-hopping can be applied for the miniaturization of all-optical atomic magnetometers with sub-pT/Hz1/2^{1/2}1/2 sensitivities.
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We have developed a versatile pulsed laser system for high precision magnetometry. The operating wavelength of the system can be configured to optically pump alkali vapors such as rubidium and cesium. The laser system consists of an auto-locked, interference filter stabilized, external cavity diode laser (ECDL), a tapered waveguide amplifier, and a pulsing module. The auto-locking controller can be used by an untrained operator to stabilize the laser frequency with respect to a library of atomic, molecular, and solid-state spectral markers. The ECDL output can be amplified from 20 mW to 2 W in continuous wave (CW) mode. The pulsing module, which includes an acousto-optic modulator (AOM), can generate pulses with durations of 20 ns and repetition rates of several MHz. Accordingly, the laser system is well suited for applications such as gravimetry, magnetometry, and differential absorption lidar. In this work, we focus on magnetometric applications and demonstrate that the laser source is suitable for optically pumping rubidium vapor. We also describe numerical simulations of optical pumping relevant to the rubidium D1 and D2 transitions at 795 nm and 780 nm respectively. These studies are relevant to the design and construction of a new generation of portable, rubidium, spin exchange relaxation-free (SERF) magnetometers, capable of sensitivities of 1 fT Hz-1/2 1.
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We study the effect of optical squeezing on the performance of a sensitive, quantum-noise-limited optically-pumped magnetometer. We use Bell-Bloom optical pumping to excite a 87^{87}87Rb vapor and Faraday rotation to detect spin precession. The sub-pT/Hz\mathrm{pT}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}pT/Hz​ sensitivity is limited by spin projection noise (photon shot noise) at low (high) frequencies. Probe polarization squeezing both improves high-frequency sensitivity and increases signal bandwidth. The accompanying polarization anti-squeezing perturbs only an unmeasured spin component, so there is no loss of sensitivity at any frequency. The method is compatible with high-density and multi-pass techniques that reach extreme sensitivity.