Magnetic field detection and imaging with atomic Rb vapor

J. Skalla, Gerhard Wäckerle, M Mehring +1 more

G. Hakhumyan, David G. Sarkisyan, Y. Pashayan-Leroy +2 more

C. Affolderbach, Guanxiang Du, Thejesh Bandi +3 more

We report on the experimental measurement of the dc and microwave magnetic field distributions inside a recently developed compact magnetron-type microwave cavity mounted inside the physics package of a high-performance vapor-cell atomic frequency standard. Images of the microwave field distribution with sub-100-μm lateral spatial resolution are obtained by pulsed optical-microwave Rabi measurements, using the Rb atoms inside the cell as field probes and detecting with a CCD camera. Asymmetries observed in the microwave field images can be attributed to the precise practical realization of the cavity and the Rb vapor cell. Similar spatially resolved images of the dc magnetic field distribution are obtained by Ramsey-type measurements. The T2relaxation time in the Rb vapor cell is found to be position dependent and correlates with the gradient of the dc magnetic field. The presented method is highly useful for experimental in situ characterization of dc magnetic fields and resonant microwave structures, for atomic clocks or other atom-based sensors and instrumentation.

G. Hakhumyan, Claude Leroy, Y. Pashayan-Leroy +2 more

Eugeniy E. Mikhailov, Irina V. Novikova, Mark D. Havey +1 more

We demonstrate the possibility of dynamic imaging of magnetic fields using electromagnetically induced transparency in an atomic gas. As an experimental demonstration we employ an atomic Rb gas confined in a glass cell to image the transverse magnetic field created by a long straight wire. In this arrangement, which clearly reveals the essential effect, the field of view is about 2 x 2 mm(2) and the field detection uncertainty is 0.14 mG per 10 microm x 10 microm image pixel.

Wilhelm G. Kaenders, Frank Lison, A. Richter +2 more