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Acta Physica Sinica

Atomic vapor cells with Herriott-cavity sealed under vacuum and their applications in atomic magnetometry

XIE ziping, Chuanpeng Hao, Sheng Dong

Published Jan 1, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This paper focuses on standardized fabrications of atomic vapor cells with multipass cells. For this purpose, we build a vacuum system that enables the sealing of the multipass-cavity-assisted cell under vacuum. Alkali atoms are prepared inside a glass holder, and the tip of the holder is broken by controlled collisions under vacuum. Atoms are then transferred to a cell glass body part by heating. Once enough atoms accumulate inside the glass part, buffer and quenching gases are filled into the system, and the glass body part is moved to contact the silicon wafer which is bonded with a Herriott-cavity. Then the cavity part and the glass part are sealed together using the anodic bonding technique. The resulting vapor cells provide enhanced measurement sensitivity and improved device standardization, which allows for seamless replacements of each other in practical applications. The performances of these cells are tested, including a test in a double-resonance alkali-metal atomic magnetometer. A magnetic field sensitivity of 95 fT/Hz1/2 is achieved in a frequency range from 10 to 20 Hz with a multipass cell filled with 400 Torr (1 Torr = 1.33×102 Pa) N2 and natural Rb atoms at 100 ℃. The technology and cells developed in this work are expected to have wide applications in atomic devices, especially in He magnetometers and nuclear-spin atomic co-magnetometers, which have special requirements for cell qualities.

DOI
10.7498/aps.74.20250220

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This paper focuses on standardized fabrications of atomic vapor cells with multipass cells. For this purpose, we build a vacuum system that enables the sealing of the multipass-cavity-assisted cell under vacuum. Alkali atoms are prepared inside a glass holder, and the tip of the holder is broken by controlled collisions under vacuum. Atoms are then transferred to a cell glass body part by heating. Once enough atoms accumulate inside the glass part, buffer and quenching gases are filled into the system, and the glass body part is moved to contact the silicon wafer which is bonded with a Herriott-cavity. Then the cavity part and the glass part are sealed together using the anodic bonding technique. The resulting vapor cells provide enhanced measurement sensitivity and improved device standardization, which allows for seamless replacements of each other in practical applications. The performances of these cells are tested, including a test in a double-resonance alkali-metal atomic magnetometer. A magnetic field sensitivity of 95 fT/Hz1/2 is achieved in a frequency range from 10 to 20 Hz with a multipass cell filled with 400 Torr (1 Torr = 1.33×102 Pa) N2 and natural Rb atoms at 100 ℃. The technology and cells developed in this work are expected to have wide applications in atomic devices, especially in He magnetometers and nuclear-spin atomic co-magnetometers, which have special requirements for cell qualities.
We report the fabrication of a micro vapor cell which has Rb and Ne inside with internal volumes of several millimeters, which is the key component of chip-scale atomic devices like clocks and magnetometers. The cells were filled with Ne at a controlled pressure as the buffer gas by using glass-silicon anodic bonding techniques and dispenser pills of SAES Getters. And a special two-step bonding method was taken to avoid breakdown caused by the buffer gas and to secure the quality of the bonding. We also built an optical measuring system and measured the coherent population trapping (CPT) resonance of85Rb D1 line with a linewidth below 2.0 kHz and a contrast about 1.1%. Zeeman spectrum for CPT resonance was also detected in these microcells. These results show that these vapor cells are capable to be used in atomic clocks or magnetometers.
In this letter, we present a novel microfabricated shaped rubidium vapor cell with 3 cm optical path length for miniaturized atomic magnetometers. The novel shaped rubidium vapor cells are manufactured by a wafer-level fabrication process, and the process consists of the following three steps sequentially: first, wet etching to form oblong shallow cavity arrays; second, anodic bonding, glass reflowing, and wet etching to obtain a glass wafer with shaped structures; third, anodic bonding and chemical reaction to obtain the wafer-level shaped rubidium vapor cells. A miniaturized atomic magnetometer using the novel shaped rubidium vapor cell is characterized in the geomagnetic environment. The performance of the novel shaped rubidium vapor cell is compared with the traditional microfabricated rubidium vapor cell of a “glass–silicon–glass” sandwich structure. Results show that the measured geomagnetic field is 47.85 μT. It is demonstrated that the dispersive signal's slope of the novel shaped rubidium vapor cell is 15 times larger than that of the traditional one. Results also indicate that the miniaturized atomic magnetometer working in the geomagnetic environment has a magnetic noise spectral density of 3.5 pT/Hz1/2from 1 to 2 Hz.
Sensitive and accurate magnetic-field measurements are essential in many applications, including geophysical studies, biomagnetic signal detection, navigation, event monitoring, and magnetic anomaly detection. In this context, atomic magnetometers are a particularly promising approach, combining high sensitivity and accuracy, and able to rival superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) without requiring cryogenic cooling. While the best sensitivity levels are achieved in the zero-field regime within magnetic shielding, scalar magnetometers operating in ambient fields also demonstrated remarkable sensitivities. Initiated in the 2000s, the miniaturization of atomic devices, and in particular alkali-vapor cells, paves the way for magnetometers that are both sensitive and compact, well suited to embedded measurements and field applications.This thesis contributes to the development of microfabricated vapor cells for atomic magnetometry. We propose a new filling and sealing method that overcomes some limitations of conventional approaches and could enable the fabrication of purer cells compatible with a wider range of chemical species. This strategy could also facilitate the integration of anti-relaxation coatings, which reduce relaxation caused by collisions with the cell walls. To date, no long-lasting anti-relaxation effects have been demonstrated in microfabricated cells, as traditional methods rely on high temperatures that are incompatible with these coatings.A cell design suited to the deposition of anti-relaxation coatings is presented. We then describe the fabrication and characterization of a multi-axis microfabricated cell, designed for compact atomic devices using multiple optical beams. This multi-axis cell was experimentally validated in a dual-beam magnetometry configuration using an experimental setup developed as part of this thesis.
Compared with superconducting quantum interference devices, chip-scale atomic magnetometers using the wafer-level micro alkali vapor cells can be used more conveniently in the applications of geophysical mapping, health care and remote monitoring. Drastic wall collisions and decreased polarization lifetime are the main barriers for the performance of the chip-scale atomic magnetometers. In this study, OTS organic films coated on the inner surface of the micro vapor cells were used to suppress wall collisions and improve polarization lifetime of the alkali atoms in the micro cells. First of all, the fabrication process of wafer-level micro OTS coated vapor cells is introduced, the process is based on anodic bonding technology. Then the prepared wafer-level micro OTS coated vapor cells have been characterized by the water-contact angle test and measured in the micro-machined spin-exchange relaxation free(SERF) atomic magnetometers. Results show that the OTS coating is effective after anodic bonding from the water contact angle test. Results also indicate that the spin exchange relaxation free atomic magnetometer using the micro OTS-coated vapor cell can operate successfully.
We report an all-optical atomic vector magnetometer using dual Bell-Bloom optical pumping beams in a Rb vapor cell. This vector magnetometer consists of two orthogonal optical pumping beams, with amplitude modulations at 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb and 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb Larmor frequencies, respectively. We simultaneously detect atomic signals excited by these two pumping beams using a single probe beam in the third direction, and extract the field orientation information using the phase delays between the modulated atomic signals and the driving beams. By adding a Herriott cavity inside the vapor cell, we improve the magnetometer sensitivity. We study the performance of this vector magnetometer in a magnetic field ranging from 100 mG to 500 mG, and demonstrate a field angle sensitivity better than 10 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{rad}/{\mathrm{Hz}}^{1/2}$ above 10 Hz.
We describe the fabrication of chip-sized alkali atom vapor cells using silicon micromachining and anodic bonding technology. Such cells may find use in highly miniaturized atomic frequency references or magnetometers. The cells consist of cavities etched in silicon, with internal volumes as small as 1 mm3. Two techniques for introducing cesium and a buffer gas into the cells are described: one based on chemical reaction between cesium chloride and barium azide, and the other based on direct injection of elemental cesium within a controlled anaerobic environment. Cesium optical absorption and coherent population trapping resonances were measured in the cells.