The stability of laser intensity has important significance for a spin-exchange-relaxation-free (SERF) atomic spin gyroscope. The fluctuation of pump-beam intensity results in the instability of the spin polarization. The background noise level is greatly influenced by the probe-beam intensity stability. In this paper, a liquid crystal variable retarder (LCVR) based laser intensity stabilization control system has been designed for a SERF atomic gyroscope. The probe-beam optical path is composed of two parallel linear polarizers, a LCVR, a photoelastic modulator (PEM) module, a non-polarizing beam splitter (NPBS) and a photodiode. A small fraction of laser intensity is split by the NPBS and detected by the photodiode. Then the signal is fed into the electronic control unit (ECU), which can generate a control signal by the digital controller and drive the LCVR to control the laser intensity. The pump-beam intensity is controlled by the fundamental component of LCVR module. In our experiments, the long-term stability of the laser intensity achieves 0.0084% (of the standard deviation) in a 4hour measurement. This method can effectively shorten the optical path and improve the stability of our gyroscope.
The stability of laser intensity has important significance for a spin-exchange-relaxation-free (SERF) atomic spin gyroscope. The fluctuation of pump-beam intensity results in the instability of the spin polarization. The background noise level is greatly influenced by the probe-beam intensity stability. In this paper, a liquid crystal variable retarder (LCVR) based laser intensity stabilization control system has been designed for a SERF atomic gyroscope. The probe-beam optical path is composed of two parallel linear polarizers, a LCVR, a photoelastic modulator (PEM) module, a non-polarizing beam splitter (NPBS) and a photodiode. A small fraction of laser intensity is split by the NPBS and detected by the photodiode. Then the signal is fed into the electronic control unit (ECU), which can generate a control signal by the digital controller and drive the LCVR to control the laser intensity. The pump-beam intensity is controlled by the fundamental component of LCVR module. In our experiments, the long-term stability of the laser intensity achieves 0.0084% (of the standard deviation) in a 4hour measurement. This method can effectively shorten the optical path and improve the stability of our gyroscope.
Abstract Atomic spin comagnetometers based on the spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) effect offer significant potential for inertial sensing and support the development of long-endurance, high-precision navigation technologies. However, limited nuclear spin polarization constrains the long-term stability of these systems. Here, a flat-top optical pumping configuration is introduced for SERF comagnetometers, expanding the uniform-intensity region of the beam to approximately 62 % , which enhances atomic polarization by around 19 % and improves magnetic noise suppression by 32 % . Experimental results demonstrate notable improvements in both sensitivity and long-term stability, highlighting the effectiveness of flat-top beams in overcoming atomic polarization uniformity limitations and advancing SERF co-magnetometer performance.
In traditional spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) gyroscopes, open-loop detection leaves the scale factor vulnerable to fluctuations in probe laser intensity and environmental temperature. To address this, an external-modulator-free closed-loop atomic spin gyroscope (ASG) is demonstrated using direct probe laser injection current modulation. A magnetic feedback loop maintains the total optical rotation at a zero point, decoupling the inertial signal from intensity and optical depth variations. Experimental results demonstrate a closed-loop rotation sensitivity of 2.8×10 −6 °/s/Hz 1/2 at 1 Hz. Compared to open-loop measurements under identical conditions (1×10 −5 ∘ /s/Hz 1/2 ), low-frequency noise is significantly suppressed. By eliminating bulky external modulators and effectively suppressing low-frequency noise, this design offers a highly competitive architecture for miniaturized atomic inertial sensors.
In a spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) atomic magnetometer, the pump and probe laser frequencies are tuned to the D 1 transition line of alkali metal atoms to enhance measurement sensitivity. The D 1 line, a non-cycling transition, exhibits a low absorption coefficient. This study theoretically analyzes the influence of different parameters on the absorption coefficient of the D 1 line and proposes a polarization-dependent approach to enhance it. A frequency stabilization method based on modulation transfer spectroscopy (MTS) with an enhanced absorption coefficient is introduced. Compared with the conventional method, optimizing the probe beam’s polarization increases the absorption coefficient, raising the amplitude of the MTS signal. The results show that using a stronger MTS signal for frequency stabilization reduces the laser's frequency noise. Using heterodyne measurement, we characterize the linewidth-narrowing effect of MTS locking and evaluate the frequency stability of the locked laser. The linewidth of each laser is reduced from the free-running 2.2 MHz to 885 kHz after MTS stabilization. The Allan deviation measurements of the beat signal between two locked lasers are 2.6 × 10 −11 / τ . This work provides a stable optical frequency reference for SERF atomic magnetometers and offers potential applications in extracting spatial information from optically pumped atoms.
The fluctuations of the probe light intensity seriously affect the performance of the sensitive atomic magnetometer. Here we propose a novel method for the intensity stabilization based on the second harmonic component of the photoelastic modulator (PEM) detection in the atomic magnetometer. The method not only could be used to eliminate the intensity fluctuations of the laser source, but also remove the fluctuations from the optical components caused by the environment. A relative fluctuation of the light intensity of 0.035% was achieved and the corresponding fluctuation of the output signal of the atomic magnetometer has decreased about two orders of magnitude from 4.06% to 0.041%. As the scheme proposed here only contains optical devices and does not require additional feedback controlled equipments, it is especially suitable for the integration of the atomic magnetometer.
• A dual-spectrum feedback architecture based on conventional closed-loop control is proposed, enabling real-time compensation for spin polarization error (SPE) in the K-Rb-21Ne atomic spin gyroscope, significantly enhancing long-term stability. • An adaptive dynamic control strategy based on a Lyapunov function is introduced to replace PID control, optimizing control parameters and improving system response speed and stability. • Experimental results show that the method improves SPE suppression by 54.4%, 74.5%, and 74.6% for clustering times of 100s, 500s, and 1000s, respectively. • Interference tests demonstrate that the method effectively eliminates steady-state offsets and enhances the system's adaptability to power density and polarization fluctuations, providing a long-term stability solution for optically pumped atomic devices. The long-term stability of atomic spin polarization plays a critical role in ensuring the sustained stability of atomic gyroscope outputs. However, drift in the laser pumping rate introduces the spin polarization error (SPE), necessitating high-precision closed-loop stabilization. Conventional single-beam-splitting closed-loop control methods overlook the time-varying characteristics of beam-splitting elements during prolonged operation, resulting in incomplete suppression of SPE in long-term measurements. To address this limitation, a dynamic light compensation framework is developed for the analysis and suppression of SPE in an atomic spin gyroscope. The proposed structure enables real-time monitoring of parameter variations in the beam-splitting elements and feeds this information back into the control loop to actively compensate for polarization errors induced by optical drift. Furthermore, an adaptive control method based on nonlinear inversion and disturbance observation is introduced, which estimates the internal state and compensates time-varying parameters in real time, thereby replacing conventional PID control and ensuring optimal closed-loop performance. Experimental results from a K-Rb- 21 Ne atomic gyroscope demonstrate real-time suppression of SPE, with improvements of 54.4%, 74.5%, and 74.6% for clustering times of 100, 500, and 1000 seconds, respectively. Interference tests show enhanced response speed and the elimination of steady-state offsets under power density and polarization disturbances. This method offers a novel solution for achieving long-term stability in optically pumped atomic devices, ensuring sustained measurement accuracy.
A nuclear spin gyroscope based on an alkali-metal–noble-gas co-magnetometer operated in spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) regime is a promising atomic rotation sensor for its ultra-high fundamental sensitivity. However, the fluctuation of probe light intensity is one of the main technical error sources that limits the bias stability of the gyroscope. Here we propose a novel method to suppress the bias error induced by probe light intensity fluctuations. This method is based on the inherent magnetic field response characteristics of the gyroscope. By the application of a bias magnetic field, the gyroscope can be tuned to a working point where the output signal is insensitive to probe light intensity variation, referred to herein as ‘zero point’, thus the bias error induced by intensity fluctuations can be completely suppressed. The superiority of the method was verified on a K–Rb–21Ne co-magnetometer, and a bias stability of approximately 0.01 °/h was obtained. In addition, the method proposed here can remove the requirement of the closed-loop control of probe light intensity, thereby facilitating miniaturization of the gyroscope volume and improvement of reliability.