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Applied Physics Express

Signal-enhanced high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer based on multi-pass cell

Jin Peng, Yiran Yin, An‐Ning Xu, Bei Liu, Zhiqiang Li, Chun Wang

Published Nov 1, 2024• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We propose a signal- and sensitivity-enhanced spin-exchange-relaxation-free atomic magnetometer utilizing a multi-pass cell with a highly spatially homogeneous optical pumping scheme. The relationship between the magnetometer’s performance and the number of probe beam passes is measured. The optical rotation angle exhibits a linear correlation with the number of passes, achieving 89 mrad nT−1 for a quadruple-pass cell. However, the sensitivity does not increase linearly when further increasing the optical length due to the noise limit. This work provides a method to study the enhancement performance of the magnetic response and sensitivity in atomic magnetometers by using multi-pass cells.

DOI
10.35848/1882-0786/ad9078

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Multi-passed probe light can enhance the signal of atomic magnetometers by increasing the effective optical path length between the alkali metal atomic ensemble and the probe light, thereby strengthening the sensitivity. In recent years, multi-passed probe light has become an important method for improving the response signal and sensitivity of atomic magnetometers. To achieve biaxial magnetic field measurement while maintaining high sensitivity, a biaxial measurement spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) atomic magnetometer with a multi-passed probe light is proposed in this paper. The theoretical model and experimental advantages of using multi-passed probe light in longitudinal magnetic field modulation (Z-mode) SERF atomic magnetometers are analyzed. In this paper, a new model of output response of the Z-mode SERF atomic magnetometer based on multi-passed probe light is established, a compact reflective optical path is designed to increase the optical path between the probe light and the polarized alkali metal atomic ensemble, enhance the signal response, and achieve the suppression of low-frequency 1/f noise through longitudinal magnetic field modulation. Experimental results confirmed that the magnetic field sensitivity in the x- and y-axis of the multi-passed probe light configuration improved by 29% and 18%, respectively, compared to the single-pass configuration.
Miniaturized high-sensitivity atomic magnetometers play a crucial role in biomagnetic measurements. The utilization of multipass cells enhances the sensitivity of atomic magnetometers. This study explores the benefits of employing a multipass cell in spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) atomic magnetometers through theoretical and experimental analysis. A signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) model was established by accounting for the optimal detuning frequency of the probe light and low-frequency 1/f noise. This enabled the optimal number of probe light passes through the vapor cell to be determined. Additionally, compact and symmetric reflective optical paths were designed to mitigate polarization gradients in atomic magnetometers with high atomic number density. Experimental results confirmed that the magnetic field sensitivity of the triple-pass configuration (1.8 fT/Hz1/2^{1/2}1/2) was 1.89 times that of the single-pass configuration (3.4 fT/Hz1/2^{1/2}1/2), consistent with the theoretical analysis. This study provides valuable theoretical guidance for analyzing the SNR performance of SERF atomic magnetometers and demonstrates the potential of multipass cells in enhancing their magnetic field sensitivity. The utilization of multipass cells presents a viable approach toward the realization of highly sensitive and portable miniaturized SERF atomic magnetometers.
Atomic magnetometry has spectacular magnetic field sensitivity at room temperature. Here, we theoretically and experimentally investigate the benefits of a multi-pass cell in magnetometers using nonlinear magneto-optical rotation interrogation. Our theoretical analysis shows that there is an improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and consequently on the magnetic field sensitivity by carefully choosing the number of passes through the medium. In our specific case, we experimentally demonstrate a 160% enhancement in the magnetometer sensitivity by using a triple-pass cell, and it is consistent with our analysis on the SNR. This work provides a pathway to evaluate the benefits of multi-pass cells in high-performance atomic magnetometers.
The Bell-Bloom-type optically pumped atomic magnetometers are well suited for weak geomagnetic field detection. However, conventional single-beam pumping introduces an atomic spin polarization gradient, which limits the measurement accuracy and sensitivity. To address this issue, this paper proposes and experimentally demonstrates a Bell-Bloom-type rubidium FID magnetometer scheme integrating orthogonally polarized counter-propagating pumping and multi-pass probe detection. This design homogenizes the atomic spin polarization distribution and suppresses light shifts and power broadening effects induced by the pump beam. Meanwhile, the five-pass probe configuration significantly enhances the signal amplitude. Experimental results reveal that, compared with the traditional single-beam pumping and single-pass detection scheme, the proposed magnetometer achieves a remarkable improvement in magnetic field measurement accuracy, and the magnetic field sensitivity is improved from 18.9 pT/\sqrt{Hz} to 3.1 pT/\sqrt{Hz}. This work provides an effective technical approach and reference for optimizing the performance of atomic magnetometers and extending their applications in integrated arrays.
Abstract : We investigated the feasibility of a femto-Tesla level scalar atomic magnetometer operating in Earths field. Our approach is unique in using multi-pass alkali-metal cells, quantum-non-demolition measurements, and suppression of spin-exchange relaxation to achieve the highest sensitivity per unit volume. We developed a new multi-pass cell geometry with a small internal volume and experimentally verified the predictions of our model for quantum spin noise. We also investigated the availability of pulsed pump and probe lasers to operate a high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer.
A free-induction-decay (FID) type optically-pumped rubidium atomic magnetometer driven by a radio-frequency (RF) magnetic field is presented in this paper. Influences of parameters, such as the temperature of rubidium vapor cell, the power of pump beam, and the strength of RF magnetic field and static magnetic field on the amplitude and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the FID signal, have been investigated in the time domain and frequency domain. At the same time, the sensitivities of the magnetometer for the single-pass and the triple-pass probe beam cases have been compared by changing the optical path of the interaction between probe beam and atomic ensemble. Compared with the sensitivity of ∼21.2 pT/Hz1/2 in the case of the single-pass probe beam, the amplitude of FID signal in the case of the triple-pass probe beam has been significantly enhanced, and the sensitivity has been improved to ∼13.4 pT/Hz1/2. The research in this paper provids a reference for the subsequent study of influence of different buffer gas pressure on the FWHM and also a foundation for further improving the sensitivity of FID rubidium atomic magnetometer by employing a polarization-squeezed light as probe beam, to achieve a sensitivity beyond the photo-shot-noise level.