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Phase-gradient metasurface enables atomic spin chirality detection for elliptically polarized laser-pumped atomic magnetometer

Jiahao Zhang, Shuo Sun, Huanyu Zhou, Rongtong Zhu, Ruofan Li, Jin Li

Published Sep 2, 2025• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The powerful light field manipulation capability of metasurfaces offers a novel development perspective for the quantum precision measurement. By applying the phase-gradient metasurface (PGM) to atomic magnetometers (AMs), we have proposed and experimentally demonstrated a new type of compact single-beam elliptically polarized atomic magnetometers (EPAMs). Employing the fabricated chiral beam splitter PGM with high cross-polarization transmittance, a new atomic spin chirality detection method was devised, enabling the ultra-high sensitivity for extremely weak magnetic field measurement and achieving a high sensitivity of 2.67 pT/Hz1/2 under an external magnetic field of approximately 10,000 nT. The new AMs combine the pumping and probing polarized light, achieving a compact design. The fabricated PGM has a size of only 3 mm × 3 mm × 0.7 mm, which is beneficial for the miniaturization and integration of AMs. This work effectively expands the application of metasurfaces in the field of quantum precision measurement, and also provides a new viewpoint for the design and development of high-sensitivity and miniaturized AMs.

DOI
10.1186/s43074-025-00189-0

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Abstract The powerful light field manipulation capability of metasurfaces offers a novel development perspective for the quantum precision measurement. By applying the phase-gradient metasurface (PGM) to atomic magnetometers (AMs), we have proposed and experimentally demonstrated a new type of compact single-beam elliptically polarized atomic magnetometers (EPAMs). Employing the fabricated chiral beam splitter PGM with high cross-polarization transmittance, a new atomic spin chirality detection method was devised, enabling the ultra-high sensitivity for extremely weak magnetic field measurement and achieving a high sensitivity of 2.67 pT/Hz1/2 under an external magnetic field of approximately 10,000 nT. The new AMs combine the pumping and probing polarized light, achieving a compact design. The fabricated PGM has a size of only 3 mm × 3 mm × 0.7 mm, which is beneficial for the miniaturization and integration of AMs. This work effectively expands the application of metasurfaces in the field of quantum precision measurement, and also provides a new viewpoint for the design and development of high-sensitivity and miniaturized AMs.
Abstract The optically pumped atomic magnetometer (OPAM) has emerged as an advanced instrument for magnetic field detection. However, the performance of conventional OPAMs is constrained by factors such as non‐uniform atomic polarization and insufficient precision in system polarization control. In this study, a bidirectional‐pump OPAM based on spin‐decoupled metasurface is presented and experimentally demonstrated. By designing a metasurface structure with a predefined phase distribution, the system generates two circularly polarized (CP) lights with distinct chirality and one linearly polarized (LP) light. Two beams of the CP light are directed in opposite directions along both sides of the cell, which effectively mitigates the polarization gradient within the cell and enhances the stability of the system. Additionally, the use of zero‐order LP light as the probe light for the system enhances energy utilization efficiency while simplifying the system architecture. The experimental results demonstrate that the OPAM based on metasurface successfully realizes precise control of atomic spin polarization. The proposed OPAM is capable of performing high‐precision magnetic field measurements, and the sensitivity has been improved to 1.85 pT/Hz 1/2 . This research not only advances the application of metasurfaces in quantum precision measurement but also offers a novel approach for enhancing the performance of atomic magnetometers.
Emerging atomic magnetometers (AMs) are among the most advanced sensors for detecting and characterizing magnetic fields. Recently, there has been growing interest in the miniaturization and integration of AMs due to the urgent demand for portability and compactness in various fields such as biomagnetism imaging. While conventional AMs require a bulky setup of optical devices for the pumping and optical readout of atomic spin, here, a novel chip-scale single-beam AM scheme is proposed by leveraging extreme transmissive circular polarization dichroism (TCPD) and geometric phase manipulation of spin-selective interference meta-optics. This is achieved through silicon-based metasurfaces that enable the realization of arbitrary-to-circular polarization conversion and wavefront modulation within a monolithic chip at Rb D1 transition wavelength (λ = 795 nm). Two spin-selective interference metasurfaces, i.e., meta-circular-polarizer (MCP) and meta-circular-polarizer-lens (MCPL), are fabricated and characterized, with a measured TCPD of 0.68 for the MCP as well as focusing efficiency and TCPD of around 70.67% and 0.69 for the MCPL, respectively. As a proof of concept, a 4 × 4 × 4 mm 3 Rb vapor cell is combined with our metasurface to construct a miniaturized single-beam AM. The sensitivity of our compact metasurface-based system is about 15 fT/Hz 1/2, with a dynamic range near zero-field of ± 2.2 nT. We envision that this work could facilitate the development of burgeoning chip-scale quantum sensors, which hold great potential for high-spatial-resolution biomagnetic imaging, on-chip nuclear magnetic resonance, and so forth.
We demonstrate a single-beam atomic magnetometer (AM) capable of measuring a three-axis magnetic field with high-sensitivity, achieved by applying a small DC offset field and a high frequency modulation field. To satisfy the miniaturization demand of AMs, an elliptically polarized light detuned by 50 GHz from the resonance transition center is employed. The circularly polarized component is used to polarize the alkali-metal atoms, while the linearly polarized light is used to detect the dynamics of the polarized spin under a magnetic field. Based on theoretical analysis, parameters that significantly affect the performance are optimized, and a sensitivity of 20 fT/Hz 1/2 in x -axis, 25 fT/Hz 1/2 in y -axis, 30 fT/Hz 1/2 in z -axis is achieved with a miniature 4 × 4 × 4 mm 87 Rb vapor cell. Moreover, we also verify that the operation principle of AMs can be used to null background magnetic fields in-situ with isotropic compensation resolution of 6.7 pT, which provides an effectively precise method for zeroing ambient magnetic field. The high-sensitivity operating of an elliptically-polarized-laser-based magnetometer provides prospective futures for constructing a compact, low-cost AM, which is particularly applicable for non-invasive bio-magnetic imaging such as array-based magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetocardiography (MCG).
A significant drive has emerged to miniaturize and integrate atomic magnetometers for various ultra-high precision quantum sensing applications, extending from laboratory research to industrial use. We introduce a novel configuration of a single-beam atomic magnetometer based on space division multiplexing (SDM), offering a promising approach to this field of research. This design utilizes a custom-designed metasurface to manipulate two generated modes, enabling the implementation of a pump-probe configuration within a single-beam atomic magnetometer. This approach achieves higher spatial resolution and reduces the system's volume. The metasurface centrally generates circularly polarized light carrying spin angular momentum, while linearly polarized light is emitted from the outer areas. This design not only enhances the miniaturization of chip-scale atomic magnetometers but also opens new avenues for exploring interactions between hot atomic spin ensembles and vector beams.
Elliptically polarized atomic magnetometers (AMs) offer high sensitivity and compactness by using a single laser beam to polarize atoms and detect optical rotation angles. However, their sensitivity advantage over optical absorption-based AMs has not been sufficiently demonstrated. This is because the optical parameters significantly affect the pumping and probing processes, leading to parameter coupling when both processes are optimized simultaneously. Such coupling presents a considerable challenge for achieving simultaneous parameter optimization, ultimately limiting the achievable sensitivity. In this study, we developed a modified input–output model for a magnetometer, based on which an optical parameter decoupling and optimization method is proposed. Our method enables us to obtain the optimal optical parameters simultaneously, including the ellipticity, intensity, and frequency of light. Consequently, a sensitivity of 6 fT/Hz1/2 was achieved using a4×4×44\times 4\times44×4×4mm3 87Rb vapor cell (an effective volume of 0.027 cm3). This work offers an efficient strategy to achieve higher sensitivity using single-beam miniaturized AMs, contributing significantly to promote biomagnetism research.
Atomic magnetometry is one of the most sensitive field-measurement techniques for biological, geo-surveying, and navigational applications. An essential process in atomic magnetometry is measurement of optical polarization rotation of a near-resonant beam due to its interaction with atomic spins under an external magnetic field. In this work, we present the design and analysis of a silicon-metasurface-based polarization beam splitter that have been tailored for operation in a rubidium magnetometer. The metasurface polarization beam splitter operates at a wavelength of 795 nm and has a transmission efficiency > 83% and a polarization extinction ratio > 20 dB. We show that these performance specifications are compatible with magnetometer operation in miniaturized vapor cells with sub-picotesla-level sensitivity and discuss the prospect of realizing compact, high-sensitivity atomic magnetometers with nanophotonic component integration.