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Sensors

In-Situ Measurement of Electrical-Heating-Induced Magnetic Field for an Atomic Magnetometer

Jixi Lu, Jing Wang, Ke Yang, Junpeng Zhao, Wei Quan, Bangcheng Han, Ming Ding

Published Mar 25, 2020• 38 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Electrical heating elements, which are widely used to heat the vapor cell of ultrasensitive atomic magnetometers, inevitably produce a magnetic field interference. In this paper, we propose a novel measurement method of the amplitude of electrical-heating-induced magnetic field for an atomic magnetometer. In contrast to conventional methods, this method can be implemented in the atomic magnetometer itself without the need for extra magnetometers. It can distinguish between different sources of magnetic fields sensed by the atomic magnetometer, and measure the three-axis components of the magnetic field generated by the electrical heater and the temperature sensor. The experimental results demonstrate that the measurement uncertainty of the heater’s magnetic field is less than 0.2 nT along the x-axis, 1.0 nT along the y-axis, and 0.4 nT along the z-axis. The measurement uncertainty of the temperature sensor’s magnetic field is less than 0.02 nT along all three axes. This method has the advantage of measuring the in-situ magnetic field, so it is especially suitable for miniaturized and chip-scale atomic magnetometers, where the cell is extremely small and in close proximity to the heater and the temperature sensor.

DOI
10.3390/s20071826

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Electrical heating elements, which are widely used to heat the vapor cell of ultrasensitive atomic magnetometers, inevitably produce a magnetic field interference. In this paper, we propose a novel measurement method of the amplitude of electrical-heating-induced magnetic field for an atomic magnetometer. In contrast to conventional methods, this method can be implemented in the atomic magnetometer itself without the need for extra magnetometers. It can distinguish between different sources of magnetic fields sensed by the atomic magnetometer, and measure the three-axis components of the magnetic field generated by the electrical heater and the temperature sensor. The experimental results demonstrate that the measurement uncertainty of the heater’s magnetic field is less than 0.2 nT along the x-axis, 1.0 nT along the y-axis, and 0.4 nT along the z-axis. The measurement uncertainty of the temperature sensor’s magnetic field is less than 0.02 nT along all three axes. This method has the advantage of measuring the in-situ magnetic field, so it is especially suitable for miniaturized and chip-scale atomic magnetometers, where the cell is extremely small and in close proximity to the heater and the temperature sensor.
Spin-based sensors, such as magnetometers and comagnetometers, require precise control of thermal conditions and magnetic fields to achieve optimal performance. Thermal-magnetic coupling noise, induced by heating systems, is one of the limiting factors for sensitivity improvement. In this paper, the in-situ suppression method is proposed to eliminate thermal-magnetic coupling noise by employing the double-layer heater with dynamically adjustable current ratios. The in-situ method is verified across two distinct systems, including commercial magnetometer and the self-developed comagnetometer. For magnetometer system, the heating-induced magnetic interferences of the double-layer heater along three directions have been decreased over 2 orders compared to a conventional heater. Similarly, the total magnetic flux density has been suppressed by more than 78%. Furthermore, the thermal-magnetic coupling noise in K-Rb-21Ne comagnetometer equipped with the double-layer heater is in-situ suppressed to 6.54×10-9°/s/Hz1/2(0.01 fT/ Hz1/2) at 1 Hz, achieving a noise reduction of 22 dB compared to ex-situ method and 24 dB suppression relative to a conventional heater. Besides, the double-layer heater ensures a uniform and stable thermal field across the vapor cell, with a temperature variance less than 0.65 °C and a temperature fluctuation 65% lower than a conventional heater. This work advances ultra-sensitive quantum sensors by providing an effective method to in-situ suppress thermal-magnetic coupling noise.
Abstract Alkali-metal vapor cells are the core sensing components of atomic magnetometers. To achieve high-sensitivity magnetic field measurements, the cells require heating and stabilization at high temperatures. Here, we propose an in-situ temperature measurement method for a vapor cell of an atomic magnetometer based on spin-relaxation analysis. This technique establishes a direct functional correlation between the cell temperature and the spin-relaxation rate under low pumping power conditions. Experimental validation within the temperature range of 90 °C–130 °C confirms the accuracy of this approach. We further investigate the effects of magnetic fields on measurement precision and demonstrate the long-term, high-precision capabilities of temperature detection. This non-invasive technique presents a critical advantage for precise thermal optimization of atomic magnetometers.
An in situ simultaneous measurement of magnetic coil constants and nonorthogonal angles method is proposed using the atomic magnetometer. Based on the transient response of the atomic spin polarization under the different magnetic fields, we establish the corresponding measurement model of magnetic coil constants and nonorthogonal angles through the relationship between the Larmor precession frequency and the external magnetic field. By this model, we experimentally obtained the coil constants of x , y, and z axes are, respectively, 9.04 ± 0.10, 8.94 ± 0.07, and 4.34 ± 0.02 nT / V in our system. The nonorthogonal angles are 89.04 deg between x axis and y axis, 88.60 deg between y axis and z axis, and 91.15 deg between z axis and x axis. This method can be used to simultaneously measure magnetic coil constants and nonorthogonal angles without relying on external instruments, which provides a basic guarantee for the accurate calculation sensitivity of spin-exchange-relaxation-free atomic magnetometers, especially for miniaturized atomic magnetometers.
Wafer-level integration of micro heater on an alkali vapor cell for chip-scale SERF magnetometers is presented. In order to obtain a suitable resistivity, polysilicon and aluminum are mixed as the target material. Magnetron sputtering is adopted to fabricate the heater on the surface of the alkali vapor cell. Various voltages are applied to the heater, of which the temperatures are measured by thermal sensitive sensors. Spin exchange relaxation free (SERF) atomic magnetometer with the heater integrated on the alkali vapor cell is characterized. Results show that the micro heater is successfully integrated on the alkali vapor cell. With the integrated heater, the rubidium vapor cell is heated up to 120°C by a 445kHz AC current. The sensitivity of the SERF magnetometer is 6.3pT/Hz1/2. Results also indicate that it provides an effective and low-cost solution for the miniaturization of atomic magnetometers.
A miniature wide-range three-axis vector atomic magnetometer under spin-exchange relaxation-free regime has been developed. With a cylindrical vapor cell of size 10 mm in diameter and length, we have constructed a single-beam configuration through a polarization-maintaining fiber carrying the laser beam to the sensor and a multimode fiber guiding the transmitted light field to the photodiode. A rotating field on the plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the laser and another modulation field in the pump direction, which are generated in the field programmable gate array using direct digital synthesis to measure the three components of the magnetic field simultaneously. The spin-exchange relaxation is suppressed in zero field controlled by a feedback system, thus a wide range and excellent accuracy of three-axis vector atomic magnetometer response is obtained. Consequently, the transverse magnetic field sensitivity of 350 fT/Hz1/2and longitudinal field sensitivity of 3pT/Hz1/2are achieved with a dynamic range of 60000 nT. This sensor with compact size, wide range and high sensitivity is particularly suitable for geomagnetic observatory and space exploration.
The spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) atomic magnetometer is one of the ultra-sensitive magnetometers, which must be operated in a low magnetic field and heated more than 100°C. One of the main engineering difficulties in fabricating a SERF atomic magnetometer is to develop a heater that introduces no additional magnetic noise into the measurement system. In this paper, a novel compact current-heating scheme and apparatus for the SERF atomic magnetometer are proposed. The thermal and magnetic simulations of this apparatus are carried out and the results of the simulations demonstrate the feasibility of this heating apparatus: the vapor cell can be heated to a temperature of 103°C and magnetic field introduced in the magnetometer can be limited in 10nT.