All optical cesium (Cs) atomic magnetometer with high sensitivity is an important technique to detect weak magnetic field. The Cs vapor cell is filled with He buffer gas to reduce spin relaxation rate. However the pressure of He also influences the Cs atomic polarizability due to pressure broadening effect. In this work, the principle of all optical Cs atomic magnetometer is analyzed. The rate equation is used to calculate Cs atomic polarizability as the pressure of He is about 100Torr and pure Cs vapor cell. The calculation shows that higher pressure of He buffer gas can decrease Cs atomic polarizability without considering spin-exchange collisions, as the pump beam frequency is locked to Cs D1 transition F=3F=4.
All optical cesium (Cs) atomic magnetometer with high sensitivity is an important technique to detect weak magnetic field. The Cs vapor cell is filled with He buffer gas to reduce spin relaxation rate. However the pressure of He also influences the Cs atomic polarizability due to pressure broadening effect. In this work, the principle of all optical Cs atomic magnetometer is analyzed. The rate equation is used to calculate Cs atomic polarizability as the pressure of He is about 100Torr and pure Cs vapor cell. The calculation shows that higher pressure of He buffer gas can decrease Cs atomic polarizability without considering spin-exchange collisions, as the pump beam frequency is locked to Cs D1 transition F=3F=4.
A new magnetometer with Cs vapor in the spin exchange relaxation free(SERF) regime is described.Cs has a higher saturated vapor pressure than other alkali metals;so cesium SERF magnetometer is particularly attractive in applications that require lower power dissipation.Four factors affect atomic transverse relaxations in the SERF magnetometer,including collisions and diffusions among Cs,N2 and He,laser pumping and detecting processes;the buffer gas pressure of He that affects the relaxation is calculated and discussed emphatically in theory at 105 ℃,the result shows that the optimum buffer gas pressure is 350×133.3 Pa.Under the optimum pressure,the polarized spectrum linewidth as the function of the cell temperature is discussed briefly.It is found the least linewidth is only 3.7 Hz corresponding to the electric spin relaxation rate of 278 s-1 at 105 ℃.The result provides a help to increase the sensitivity of the magnetometer with Cs vapor.
Spin-exchange-relaxation-free (SERF) optical atomic magnetometers are facing the challenges of dramatic decrease of sensitivity when the alkali vapor cells become small. This paper focuses on the sensitivity improvement of the chip-scale atomic magnetometer (CSAM) by changing buffer-gas pressures inside the microfabricated vapor cells. The rubidium vapor cells with three different buffer-gas pressures were tested in the SERF magnetometer. The influences of vapor cell temperature and pumping laser power on the device sensitivity are also characterized for further optimization. Results show that the three atomic vapor cells, with N2buffer-gas pressure of 0.20, 0.88, and 2.35 amg, have sensitivities of 900, 500, and 150 fT/Hz1/2, respectively. Results indicated that when the alkali vapor cells continue to be smaller, high buffer-gas pressure would provide an effective way to reduce the wall collision and improve the performance of CSAMs.
Optically pumped magnetometers (OPM) are core quantum payloads for geomagnetic remote sensing. Among them, the spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) OPM with aT-level ultimate sensitivity stands as mainstream. While enlarging the alkali-metal vapor cell of the SERF OPM enhances sensitivity, it triggers complex atomic spin relaxation, notably intensified magnetic field gradient relaxation. To address the dilemma of atomic spin relaxation regulation and the engineering requirements of ultra-high-sensitivity SERF magnetometers, this paper constructs an analytical model of the total relaxation rate that comprehensively considers wall-collision relaxation, spin-destruction collision relaxation, and longitudinal/transverse magnetic field gradient relaxation, etc. The analytical relationship between buffer gas pressure and total relaxation rate for a commonly used spherical vapor cell is derived, revealing the intrinsic correlation among cell size, atomic spin relaxation, and optimal pressure. Based on the theoretical model, the filling parameters of the vapor cell are optimized, and experimental measurements are carried out. The theoretical relaxation results are highly consistent with the experimental ones, realizing the precise optimization of buffer gas pressure. The optimization method proposed in this paper provides a theoretical basis and parameter guidance for the engineering preparation of alkali-metal vapor cells for high-sensitivity SERF magnetometers in remote sensing applications.
The optimization of buffer gas pressure is very important to improve the performance of the rubidium (Rb) atomic magnetometer. In this paper we briefly introduce the basic principle and the experimental method of the rubidium magnetometer based on Faraday rotation effect, and describe the factors affecting the magnetometer sensitivity, then analyze and summarize the mechanism of the influence of spin-exchange, spin-destruction collisions, radiation trapping and the spin diffusion on spin relaxation of Rb atoms. Based on this, the relationship between the rubidium magnetometer sensitivity, the spin relaxation rate and the gas chamber conditions (buffer gas pressure, the bubble radius, measuring temperature) is established. Doing calculations by the simulation software, how the magnetometer sensitivity and the relaxation rate vary with the gas chamber conditions can be seen; finally, the optimal values of the buffer gas pressure under certain gas chamber conditions are obtained. The work is significant for the engineering development of rubidium magnetometer.
The paper describes a new magnetometer with Cs vapor in the spin exchange relaxation free (SERF) regime. Because cesium atom has a higher saturated vapor pressure than other alkali metallic atoms, so the magnetometer has required lower operated temperature. We have discussed the effect of different pumping intensities on the polarization and the pumping rate at 105°C in theory; and the result shows out the magnetometer will have maximum sensitivity when the pumping intensity is 52mW/cm2. Taking into account all relaxations including collision relaxations, diffusion relaxation and pumping relaxation from pump light, we find the relaxation rate will be about 6Hz for the cesium magnetometer with SERF.
The dephasing time of spin-polarized atoms in an atomic vapor cell plays an important role in determining the stability of vapor-cell clocks as well as the sensitivity of optically-pumped magnetometers. The presence of a buffer gas can extend the lifetime of these atoms. Many vapor cell systems operate at a fixed (often elevated) temperature. For ambient temperature operation with no temperature control, it is necessary to characterize the temperature dependence as well. We present a spin-polarization lifetime study of Cesium vapor cells with different buffer gas pressures, and find good agreement with expectations based on the combined effects of wall collisions, spin exchange, and spin destruction. For our (7.5 mm diameter) vapor cells, the lifetime can be increased by two orders of magnitude by introducing Ne buffer gas up to 100 Torr. Additionally, the dependence of the lifetime on temperature is measured (25 - 47 oC) and simulated for the first time to our knowledge with reasonable agreement.