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Optics Express

Construction and signal analysis of a reflective single-beam spin-exchange relaxation-free comagnetometer for rotation measurement

Yixiang Liang, Liwei Jiang, Jiali Liu, Wei Quan

Published Jun 7, 2023• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The single-beam comagnetometer working in the spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) state is being developed into a miniaturized atomic sensor with extremely high precision in rotation measurement. In this paper, we propose a reflective configuration for the single-beam SERF comagnetometer. The laser light simultaneously used for optical pumping and signal extraction is designed to pass through the atomic ensemble twice. In the optical system, we propose a structure composed of a polarizing beam splitter and a quarter-wave plate. With this, the reflected light beam can be separated entirely from the forward propagating one and realize a complete light collection with a photodiode, making the least light power loss. In our reflective scheme, the length of interaction between light and atoms is extended, and because the power of the DC light component is attenuated, the photodiode can work in a more sensitive range and has a better photoelectric conversion coefficient. Compared with the single-pass scheme, our reflective configuration has a stronger output signal and performs better signal-to-noise ratio and rotation sensitivity. Our work has an important impact on developing miniaturized atomic sensors for rotation measurement in the future.

DOI
10.1364/oe.496641

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The single-beam comagnetometer working in the spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) state is being developed into a miniaturized atomic sensor with extremely high precision in rotation measurement. In this paper, we propose a reflective configuration for the single-beam SERF comagnetometer. The laser light simultaneously used for optical pumping and signal extraction is designed to pass through the atomic ensemble twice. In the optical system, we propose a structure composed of a polarizing beam splitter and a quarter-wave plate. With this, the reflected light beam can be separated entirely from the forward propagating one and realize a complete light collection with a photodiode, making the least light power loss. In our reflective scheme, the length of interaction between light and atoms is extended, and because the power of the DC light component is attenuated, the photodiode can work in a more sensitive range and has a better photoelectric conversion coefficient. Compared with the single-pass scheme, our reflective configuration has a stronger output signal and performs better signal-to-noise ratio and rotation sensitivity. Our work has an important impact on developing miniaturized atomic sensors for rotation measurement in the future.
We have developed a single-beam spin-exchange relaxation-free comagnetometer using elliptically polarized light for dual-axis rotation measurement. The light beam propagating through the glass cell is simultaneously used for optical pumping and signal extraction. Combined with transverse magnetic field modulation, the rotation information can be collected through a balanced polarimeter module and a lock-in amplifier. Also, we propose a decoupling method by adjusting the phase shift of the reference signal, allowing the device to realize biaxial signal decoupling while still maintaining its self-compensation state. Compared to those without decoupling, our method improves the performance of our device in its signal-to-noise ratio and rotation sensitivity. The single-beam comagnetometer scheme and the decoupling method have a positive impact on the development of miniaturized atomic sensors for high-precision inertial measurement.
The ultra-sensitivity magnetometer plays an important role in fundamental physics and applications, including magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetocardiography (MCG). The spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) atomic magnetometer (AM) has great sensitivity but is limited by the relatively complicated dual-beam structure for application, leading to the development of the compact AM based on one single laser beam. Compared with the single-beam optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) detecting the absorption of the circularly polarized beam, the SERF AM based on an elliptically polarized single beam detecting the optical rotation angle of polarization has a better response, lower laser power, and no need for signal modulation or demodulation. Here, we would like to report an elliptically-polarized single-beam SERF AM enhanced by reflecting the probe beam, increasing the light-atom interaction. Moreover, unlike the previous reflecting AM using the beam splitter, we used a D-shape mirror to extract the reflected beam, avoiding power losses of both incident and reflected beam and destruction of polarization. The sensitivity of our device in the reflecting scheme reaches 5 fT/Hz1/2 at 9–60 Hz, satisfying the need to measure the human MEG/MCG or search for the fifth force. Our research paves the way for developing the compact SERF AM for multiple future applications.
This paper presents a single-beam atomic magnetic field measurement gradiometer, which is a highly sensitive magnetic field gradient measuring instrument based on the atom spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) effect. The reflective detection optical path structure is adopted. The spin precession signals of an atom under incident and reflected light are different. There is also a difference in the corresponding magnetic field distribution. The final measurement of magnetic field gradients is conducted based on the different magnetic field distributions. The single-beam high-sensitive magnetic field gradiometers based on the atomic SERF effect are more sensitive than conventional two-probe magnetic field gradiometers or two-beam magnetic field gradiometers. The gradiometers are not affected by a difference in the detected optical power in the single-beam detection light measurements. The reflector uses an angular cone prism for two-dimensional magnetic field gradient measurements and is simple to construct. The single-beam highly sensitive magnetic field gradient measurement instrument based on the atomic SERF effect has a reflective detection optical path structure. It uses a quarter-wave plate to achieve the initial signal phase elimination of both incident and reflected signal and an angular cone prism as a reflector to achieve two-dimensional measurement.
Atomic spin sensors are essential for beyond-the-standard-model exploration, biomagnetic measurement, and quantum navigation. While the traditional DC mode spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) comagnetometer achieves ultrahigh sensitivity, further improvements require suppressing technical noise and surpassing standard quantum limit. In this work, we develop a K-Rb-21^{21}21Ne SERF atomic comagnetometer that dynamically polarizes the electron and nuclear spins, shielding signals from direct interference by pump light. We establish a three-phase evolutionary model for hybrid spin ensemble dynamics, yielding a complete analytical solution, and analyze the responses to various spin perturbations. Additionally, we achieve an averaged 38.5 %\%% suppression of the polarization noise and identify the key factors that limit sensitivity improvements. The dynamically polarized comagnetometer exhibits effective suppression of technical noise and holds the potential to overcome quantum noise limit, while offering promising applications in exploring new physics and precise magnetic field measurements.
Spin exchange relaxation free (SERF) comagnetometers, which use coupled alkali metal and noble gas spins, are promising for precision measurements due to their potential for miniaturization and high sensitivity. In these systems, alkali atoms are optically pumped with circularly polarized light, and their polarization is transferred to noble gas nuclei via spin-exchange collisions. However, spatial inhomogeneities in alkali polarization induced by factors such as optical absorption, gas diffusion, and temperature gradients generate effective magnetic field gradients for the noble gas spins. These gradients accelerate spin relaxation and degrade overall sensor performance. This work introduces a pump beam reflection compensation scheme to improve alkali polarization uniformity in a SERF comagnetometer. By retro reflecting the pump beam back along its original optical path with reversed helicity, alkali atoms are repolarized from the opposite direction. This counter propagating beam compensates polarization gradients through reverse optical pumping, thereby homogenizing the effective field experienced by the noble gas spins. The modified pumping configuration enhances spatial uniformity while maintaining a simple and compact sensor architecture. A revised polarization rate model incorporating the retro reflected beam is presented. Simulations comparing single beam, 90% reflection, and total reflection configurations confirm a marked reduction in alkali polarization gradients for reflection based designs. Experimentally, the transverse relaxation time of the noble gas spins is extended by 77.66%, indicating significantly suppressed gradient induced decoherence. The proposed method supports the development of miniaturized, high performance SERF comagnetometers.
Atomic spin sensors are essential for beyond-the-standard-model exploration, biomagnetic measurement, and quantum navigation. While the traditional DC mode spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) comagnetometer achieves ultrahigh sensitivity, further improvements require suppressing technical noise and surpassing standard quantum limit. In this work, we develop a K-Rb- 21 Ne SERF atomic comagnetometer that dynamically polarizes the electron and nuclear spins, shielding signals from direct interference by pump light. We establish a three-phase evolutionary model for hybrid spin ensemble dynamics, yielding a complete analytical solution, and analyze the responses to various spin perturbations. Additionally, we achieve an average 39% suppression of the polarization noise and identify the key factors that limit sensitivity improvements. The dynamically polarized comagnetometer exhibits effective suppression of technical noise and holds the potential to overcome quantum noise limit while offering promising applications in exploring new physics and precise magnetic field measurements.