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Optics Express

Random noise taming under phase control: spectral manipulation of an optically pumped atomic magnetometer by random telegraph noise

Xu‐xing Geng, Wangwang Tang, Ao-dong Xie, Zhiang Xu, Guoqing Yang, Shangqing Liang, Hui Huang, Guangming Huang, Gao‐xiang Li

Published Sep 1, 2025• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Optically pumped atomic magnetometer (OPAM), as a highly sensitive quantum sensor, is often significantly disturbed by low-frequency random noise, which seriously limits its measurement robustness. Motivated by this problem, we systematically studied the influence of various parameters of the statistical field related to random telegraph noise (RTN) on the dynamics and spectral characteristics of the OPAM, both theoretically and experimentally. The investigation revealed that the OPAM output spectrum shows a phase sensitivity similar to that induced by the squeezed vacuum field to the relative phase ϕ between the statistical field and the coherent driving field, and its physical essence originates from the phase-dependent reservoir formed by the statistical field. Specifically, the system spectrum is periodically modulated to ϕ , showing complementary regulation behavior of spectral peak and linewidth: when ϕ =90 ∘ , the system is almost insensitive to the RTN noise parameters, showing good robustness; however, when ϕ =0 ∘ , the system is highly responsive to the RTN parameters, showing obvious spectral broadening effect. Our results not only provide what we believe to be a new phase control strategy for the optimization of the OPAM under the background of low-frequency noise, but also provide theoretical and experimental path for the development of noise spectrum precision measurement and dynamical decoupling technology based on OPAM.

DOI
10.1364/oe.574832

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Optically pumped atomic magnetometer (OPAM), as a highly sensitive quantum sensor, is often significantly disturbed by low-frequency random noise, which seriously limits its measurement robustness. Motivated by this problem, we systematically studied the influence of various parameters of the statistical field related to random telegraph noise (RTN) on the dynamics and spectral characteristics of the OPAM, both theoretically and experimentally. The investigation revealed that the OPAM output spectrum shows a phase sensitivity similar to that induced by the squeezed vacuum field to the relative phase ϕ between the statistical field and the coherent driving field, and its physical essence originates from the phase-dependent reservoir formed by the statistical field. Specifically, the system spectrum is periodically modulated to ϕ , showing complementary regulation behavior of spectral peak and linewidth: when ϕ =90 ∘ , the system is almost insensitive to the RTN noise parameters, showing good robustness; however, when ϕ =0 ∘ , the system is highly responsive to the RTN parameters, showing obvious spectral broadening effect. Our results not only provide what we believe to be a new phase control strategy for the optimization of the OPAM under the background of low-frequency noise, but also provide theoretical and experimental path for the development of noise spectrum precision measurement and dynamical decoupling technology based on OPAM.
Non-Gaussian low-frequency noise, such as random telegraph noise (RTN), is widely present in quantum sensing systems and is usually regarded as the main perturbation limiting sensitivity and stability. However, whether it can be transformed into a usable spectroscopic resource still lacks systematic experimental verification. We demonstrate Ξ - and Λ -type noise-induced transparency (NIT) effects in an optically pumped atomic magnetometer coupled to non-Gaussian RTN reservoirs, showing that NIT arises from interference between stochastic transition channels in spins, both theoretically and experimentally. In the Ξ -type configuration, the spectral splitting driven by RTN exhibits a significant change in the transparency window, and the relationship between dynamic criticality and observable spectral structure is elucidated by the correlation between the Liouvillian exceptional point and the resolvable spectral-splitting threshold. In the Λ -type configuration, the interference effect of amplitude-dependent noise enables the transparency effect to be stably manifested under weak noise, providing a calibrable noise-amplitude readout mechanism. These results extend magnetometer spectra from noise suppression to probing noise with noise, providing a new approach for non-Gaussian noise measurement and adaptive background-noise sensing.
Abstract Non-Gaussian noise is usually regarded as a limitation for precision measurements, something to be shielded against or eliminated. We take the opposite approach by injecting controllable random telegraph noise (RTN) into an optically pumped atomic magnetometer (OPAM), demonstrating that controlled colored noise can serve as a spectroscopic probe of spin-environment coupling. By independently tuning the RTN amplitude, switching rate, and carrier detuning, we resolve a stochastic-response crossover from fast-switching motional averaging to a slow-switching, configuration-resolved regime. Beyond noise-induced broadening, the spectral envelope reflects the finite residence time of the two values of the same RTN process. These results establish controlled RTN as a spectroscopic probe of spin-environment coupling in an OPAM. The measured spectra vary systematically with the applied RTN amplitude, switching rate, and carrier detuning.
The deterioration of spin coherence has been a significant challenge in the field of quantum magnetic measurements based on optically pumped atomic magnetometers (OPAMs). However, measurement and evaluation methods for specific relaxation components of OPAMs under working conditions remain lacking, which impedes further improvement in OPAM performance. To address this, we propose a methodology for quantifying the relaxation components of an OPAM under realistic operating conditions. Using this method, we confirm the existence of an anomalous relaxation mechanism induced by radio-frequency (RF) magnetic fields and develop an empirical expression to describe its behavior. The results experimentally demonstrate that, in addition to the well-known spin-exchange relaxation, the dominant contributions to spin relaxation arise from optical pumping and RF magnetic fields. This work paves the way for sensitivity enhancement in quantum magnetometry and refines the theoretical understanding of relaxation mechanisms in OPAMs.
The light shift represents a major source of measurement error and system noise in optically pumped atomic magnetometers (OPAMs). Tuning the laser frequency to a specific value is a common and effective approach to suppressing light shift in many optical-pumping systems. However, when this method is applied to OPAMs, a significant issue arises: at the zero-light-shift frequency, the magnetometer’s sensitivity decreases markedly. Consequently, it is not possible to optimize simultaneously both the measurement accuracy affected by the light shift and the overall sensitivity of the magnetometer. To address this contradiction, the underlying mechanism was analyzed using the theory of light absorption and the principles governing light–atom interactions, leading to the proposal of a dual-frequency optical-pumping scheme. Experimental results demonstrate that this approach can suppress the light shift by more than 95% while maintaining the optimal sensitivity of the OPAM. The proposed dual-frequency scheme can also be extended to other circularly polarized optical-pumping systems, thereby facilitating both the enhancement of OPAM performance and its practical deployment in real-world applications.
Optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) are revolutionizing the task of magnetic-field sensing due to their extremely high sensitivity combined with technological improvements in miniaturization which have led to compact and portable devices. OPMs can be based on spin-oriented or spin-aligned atomic ensembles which are spin polarized through optical pumping with circular or linear polarized light, respectively. Characterization of OPMs and the dynamical properties of their noise is important for applications in real-time sensing tasks. In our work, we experimentally perform spin noise spectroscopy of an alignment-based magnetometer. Moreover, we propose a stochastic model that predicts the noise power spectra exhibited by the device when, apart from the strong magnetic field responsible for the Larmor precession of the spin, white noise is applied in the perpendicular direction aligned with the pumping-probing beam. By varying the strength of the noise applied as well as the linear-polarization angle of incoming light, we verify the model to accurately predict the heights of the Larmor-induced spectral peaks and their corresponding linewidths. Our work paves the way for alignment-based magnetometers to become operational in real-time sensing tasks. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Abstract The principal limitations imposed by spin (or atomic) quantum projection noise on the sensitivity of optical quantum sensors on thermal atoms, which include frequency standards, magnetometers, and gyroscopes that use optical detection of electron paramagnetic resonance, have been theoretically and experimentally studied. The effect of increasing the rms amplitude of the projection noise in a magnetometric scheme under the influence of a strong optical pumping has been demonstrated. Its explanation has been proposed and experimentally confirmed: it has been shown that this effect is explained by the invariance of the integral power of projection noise in relation to the magnetic resonance linewidth in a wide range of pumping intensities An experimental study of the parameters of projection noise in a magnetometric quantum sensor has been conducted and recommendations for optimizing the sensor parameters have been given.