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Journal of Physics D Applied Physics

An atomic spin precession detection method based on electro-optic modulation in an all-optical K–Rb hybrid atomic magnetometer

Yanhui Hu, Xuejing Liu, Yang Li, Han Yao, Lingling Dai, Biyao Yang, Ming Ding

Published May 15, 2017• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We present an ultrahigh-sensitivity electro-optic modulator (EOM) detection method for detecting the atomic Larmor precession in an all-optical K–Rb hybrid atomic magnetometer operating in the spin-exchange relaxation-free regime. A magnetic field sensitivity of ~10 f T Hz −1/2 has been achieved by optimizing the probe laser parameters and the EOM modulation conditions, which is comparable to that with the Faraday modulation method and has a better performance than the balanced polarimetry method in the low frequency range. The EOM detection method in the atomic magnetometer presents several advantages, such as simple structure, no extra magnetic noise, moderate thermal effect, high measurement sensitivity and reliable stability. It is demonstrated to be feasible for the improved compactness and simplicity of atomic magnetic field measurement devices in the future.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6463/aa7325

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Abstract We present an ultrahigh-sensitivity electro-optic modulator (EOM) detection method for detecting the atomic Larmor precession in an all-optical K–Rb hybrid atomic magnetometer operating in the spin-exchange relaxation-free regime. A magnetic field sensitivity of ~10 f T Hz −1/2 has been achieved by optimizing the probe laser parameters and the EOM modulation conditions, which is comparable to that with the Faraday modulation method and has a better performance than the balanced polarimetry method in the low frequency range. The EOM detection method in the atomic magnetometer presents several advantages, such as simple structure, no extra magnetic noise, moderate thermal effect, high measurement sensitivity and reliable stability. It is demonstrated to be feasible for the improved compactness and simplicity of atomic magnetic field measurement devices in the future.
An electro-optic modulator (EOM) detection method is demonstrated to detect the optical atomic precession in the Spin-Exchange Relaxation Free (SERF) atomic magnetometer, which achieved a sensitivity of ~30 fT/Hz1/2 at the calibration frequency of 30Hz. The SERF atomic magnetometer based on EOM presents several advantages, such as simple structure, no magnetic shielding, moderate thermal effect and high measurement accuracy. It is demonstrated to be feasible for the compactness and simplicity of atomic magnetic field measurement devices in the future.
A new method for the detection of atomic spin precession based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Different from the conventional polarization detection methods which obtain the atomic spin precession signal by measuring the change of the probe laser power, the proposed method uses the laser modulated by an electro-optic phase modulator (EOM) as the source of the interferometer, and obtains the atomic spin precession signal by measuring the phase difference between the two arms of the MZI. The output of interferometer is independent of the probe laser power, which avoids the system error caused by the fluctuation of the probe laser power, and the long-term stability of the system is effectively improved. At the same time, the method adopts high-frequency electro-optic modulation, which can effectively suppress low-frequency noise, such as 1/f noise, and can significantly improve the detection sensitivity. The rotation sensitivity and long-term stability of the atomic comagnetometer were tested using the MZI detection method and a typical detection method, respectively. The comparison results show that the proposed method has the highest low frequency sensitivity and the potential to improve the long-term stability of the system.
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.
Spin-exchange-relaxation-free (SERF) atomic magnetometer is the most sensitive magnetic detector in the world at present due to the fact that the broadening of spin-exchange collision is eliminated by operating at high alkali-mental density and low magnetic field. On that condition, the precession frequency of high-density alkali vapor becomes a constant fractional value of Larmor frequency, and the width of magnetic-resonance line gets narrower. This paper analyzes the principle of SERF regime and proposes an innovation based on measuring the slowing-down Larmor frequency directly instead of the complicated conventional method based on the width of magnetic resonance line. We calculated and simulated the slowing-down precession frequency and linewidth of magnetic resonance on certain conditions. The experimental results have verified that the method is valid to identify the regime of SERF of atomic magnetometer via detecting the slowing-down precession frequency.
Quantum manipulation technology and photoelectric detection technology have jointly facilitated the rapid development of ultra-sensitive atomic spin magnetometers. To improve the output signal and sensitivity of the spin-exchange-relaxation-free (SERF) atomic spin magnetometer, the noises influencing on the output signal and the sensitivity were analyzed, and the corresponding noise suppression methods were presented. The magnetic field noises, including the residual magnetic field noise and the light shift noise, were reduced to approximately zero by employing the magnetic field compensation method and by adjusting the frequency of the pump beam, respectively. With respect to the operation temperature, the simulation results showed that the temperature of the potassium atomic spin magnetometer realizing the spin-exchange relaxation-free regime was 180 °C. Moreover, the fluctuation noises of the frequency and the power were suppressed by using the frequency and the power stable systems. The experimental power stability results showed that the light intensity stability was enhanced 10%. Contrast experiments on the sensitivity were carried out to demonstrate the validity of the suppression methods. Finally, a sensitivity of 13 fT/Hz(1/2) was successfully achieved by suppressing noises and optimizing parameters.