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IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics

High-Sensitivity, Microfabricated Quantum Magnetometers With an Intelligent Solar Heating System

Yintao Ma, Yao Chen, Mingzhi Yu, Wang Yanbin, Ju Guo, Man Zhao, Ping Yang, Qijing Lin, Libo Zhao

Published Jan 8, 2025• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Atomic magnetometers, a prominent class of quantum sensors, have become increasingly significant in magnetometry, with extensive applications in cutting-edge physics, biomedical imaging, industrial inspection, and beyond. However, the power consumption of an atomic magnetometer is primarily dominated by that demanded to heat the atomic vapor cell to its operating temperature. This operating temperature determines the alkali-metal atomic density, thereby influencing the magnetic field sensitivity and overall power consumption, which poses a potential obstacle to the large-scale engineering application of atomic magnetometers. In this article, a novel heating method utilizing renewable solar energy is proposed for the first time, which can surpass the limitation of conventional heating methods in thermo-atom-based quantum sensors. By exploiting an intelligent closed-loop control system to adaptively regulate the functionalized sunlight power, this proposed method has the capability of both high heating efficiency and accuracy. The heating properties and laser absorption spectrum at different temperatures up to 180 °C are characterized substantiating the feasibility of utilizing sunlight. Moreover, a sunlight-heated, highly sensitive, microfabricated atomic magnetometer with a magnetic field sensitivity of 18 fT/Hz1/2is demonstrated. And the single-chamber microelectromechanical system atomic vapor cell as the key component is fabricated by utilizing deep silicon micromachining and anodic bonding techniques. This proposed technique can be further extended to all quantum sensing systems based on thermal atomic ensembles and open up new possibilities for the development of self-powered, environmentally friendly quantum sensors.

DOI
10.1109/tmech.2024.3519377

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Atomic magnetometers, a prominent class of quantum sensors, have become increasingly significant in magnetometry, with extensive applications in cutting-edge physics, biomedical imaging, industrial inspection, and beyond. However, the power consumption of an atomic magnetometer is primarily dominated by that demanded to heat the atomic vapor cell to its operating temperature. This operating temperature determines the alkali-metal atomic density, thereby influencing the magnetic field sensitivity and overall power consumption, which poses a potential obstacle to the large-scale engineering application of atomic magnetometers. In this article, a novel heating method utilizing renewable solar energy is proposed for the first time, which can surpass the limitation of conventional heating methods in thermo-atom-based quantum sensors. By exploiting an intelligent closed-loop control system to adaptively regulate the functionalized sunlight power, this proposed method has the capability of both high heating efficiency and accuracy. The heating properties and laser absorption spectrum at different temperatures up to 180 °C are characterized substantiating the feasibility of utilizing sunlight. Moreover, a sunlight-heated, highly sensitive, microfabricated atomic magnetometer with a magnetic field sensitivity of 18 fT/Hz1/2is demonstrated. And the single-chamber microelectromechanical system atomic vapor cell as the key component is fabricated by utilizing deep silicon micromachining and anodic bonding techniques. This proposed technique can be further extended to all quantum sensing systems based on thermal atomic ensembles and open up new possibilities for the development of self-powered, environmentally friendly quantum sensors.
We demonstrate an optical magnetometer based on a microfabricated 87Rb vapor cell in a micromachined silicon sensor head. The alkali atom density in the vapor cell is increased by heating the cell with light brought to the sensor through an optical fiber, and absorbed by colored filters attached to the cell windows. A second fiber-optically coupled beam optically pumps and interrogates the atoms. The magnetometer operates on 140 mW of heating power and achieves a sensitivity below 20 fT/√Hz throughout most of the frequency band from 15 Hz to 100 Hz. Such a sensor can measure magnetic fields from the human heart and brain.
An integrated optically-controlled sensor, suitable for remote, high-sensitivity detection of magnetic fields is presented. The operation of the sensor both in earth field in a Bell-Bloom type configuration is demonstrated as well as in a spin-exchange relaxation-free mode (SERF) and reach sensitivities better than 500 fT/radicHz at 10 Hz. The design and initial measurements of a small atomic magnetometer that has no electrical connections near the sensor head is presented. The sensor is fabricated by use of methods derived from microelectromechanical (MEMS) systems and integrated with off-the-shelf micro-optical components. Light is coupled through fibers to and from the sensor head for interrogation of the atoms. Heating of the atomic vapor is achieved by a second fiber-coupled laser source, utilizing the absorption properties of the vapor cell.
The most appealing features of chip-scale quantum sensors are their capability to maintain extreme sensitivity while enabling large-scale batch manufacturing. This necessitates high-level integration and wafer-level fabrication of atomic vapor cells. In this paper, we describe a micromachining paradigm for wafer-level atomic vapor cells functionalized by CMOS-compatible non-magnetic heaters and temperature sensors and demonstrate several innovative applications. Leveraging standard micro-nanofabrication technology, the integrated vapor cells achieved an ultra-long optical access of 5 mm, nearly four time that of previously microfabricated vapor cells. The feasibility of the integrated atomic vapor cells fabrication process was verified by a consecutive 30-day aging test in a harsh environment (operating temperature of 473 K and vacuum of approximately 1 Pa). Benefiting from the ultra-long optical path, we observed several typical quantum effects, including the saturation absorption and spin fluctuations, a regime previously inaccessible with conventional micromachined vapor cells. Finally, a zero-field quantum magnetometry with an ultra-high magnetic sensitivity of 12 fT/Hz1/2 was also demonstrated. Our achievements broaden the potential applications of microfabricated atomic vapor cells and pave the way for scalable manufacturing of ultrasensitive, chip-scale quantum sensors.
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have emerged as a robust room-temperature solid-state platform for weak magnetic field detection. Several NV-based magnetometers have been proposed in the past decades, but they still suffer from either low sensitivity or high power consumption. This is a challenge for sensors deployed in remote locations on Earth or in space that are not connected to the power grid. Although sunlight-driven quantum magnetometry, which does not rely on conventional energy sources, has been proposed as a possible solution, its sensitivity remains a limitation. Here, we present an impressive improvement in the sensitivity of the sunlight-driven NV-diamond quantum magnetometer. A crucial aspect of our approach involves leveraging the ground-state level anti-crossing properties of the NV centers, coupled with magnetic flux concentrators. This integration enables us to achieve a magnetic-field sensitivity of 26 pT/Hz in a laboratory environment and 49 pT/Hz when the magnetometer operates outdoors under sunlight. We also illustrate the promising potential of further improving the sensitivity to the subpicotesla level by using cutting-edge technologies. Furthermore, we reveal the capability of this quantum magnetometer as a receiver of extremely low-frequency magnetic signals and pave the way for communication applications. These advancements represent a significant leap toward attaining high-sensitivity and energy-efficient magnetic field sensing and expanding the range of possible applications for these environmentally sustainable quantum technologies.
Emerging quantum technologies, such as quantum computations and precise sensing, provide new opportunities in the fields of science and engineering.While energy consumption is a major concern for modern industry and society, it is rarely taken into consideration for quantum technologies.Especially, the potential of quantum technologies directly powered by renewable energy has long been neglected.The initialization, manipulation, and readout of quantum systems generally require high-power-consuming equipment, such as a dilution refrigerator, a microwave-power amplifier, and a high-power laser.Here, we discover a direct utilization path for solar energy to steer the quantum states of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, which is one of the most promising solid-state quantum systems in the past decades.Following this method, we demonstrate sunlight-driven quantum magnetometry.The initialization and readout of this quantum magnetometry are achieved directly by sunlight, and conventional microwave manipulation can be removed by using a microwave-free scheme.By utilizing ambient energy directly, our method brings potential solutions to the energy-consumption issue of quantum technologies.This technique can be further extended to multiple quantum systems, and thus opens the door to environmentally sustainable quantum technologies and self-powered quantum sensing in the future.
Using the techniques of microelectromechanical systems, we are developing chip-scale atomic sensors based on laser excitation of alkali atoms. Recently, we demonstrated a magnetometer physics package based on coherent population trapping that had a sensitivity of 50 pT/Hzfrac12at 10 Hz, had a volume of 12 mm3, and used 195 mW of power as presented by Schwindt et al. (2004). To improve the sensitivity and reduce the power consumption of the magnetometer, we are evaluating other methods of interrogating the atoms for use in microfabricated devices. One of these methods uses frequency modulated nonlinear magneto-optical rotation (FM NMOR). We demonstrate that an FM NMOR magnetometer can be made to self-oscillate, offering simple construction and low power consumption