Subpicotesla atomic magnetometry with a microfabricated vapour cell
Subpicotesla atomic magnetometry with a microfabricated vapour cell
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DOI：
10.1038/nphoton.2007.201
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发表时间：
2007-11-01
期刊：
影响因子：
35
通讯作者：
Kitching, John
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Shah, Vishal;Knappe, Svenja;Kitching, John
能够测量低于1 pT磁场的高灵敏度磁力计对地球物理勘测（1）、未爆弹药探测（2）、空间科学（3）、核磁共振（4、5）、保健（6）以及周边和远程监测等多种领域产生影响。最近，已经表明，实验室光学磁力计（7，8），基于气相中碱金属原子自旋的进动，可以实现在飞秒特斯拉范围内的灵敏度，与超导量子干涉装置（6）的灵敏度相当（9-12），甚至超过（13）。我们在这里展示了一个原子磁力计的基础上，毫米级的微型碱蒸汽电池与灵敏度低于70 fT赫兹（-1/2）。此外，我们使用简化的光学配置，只需要一个低功率激光器。这一结果表明，毫米级，低功率毫微微特斯拉磁强计是可行的，我们支持这一主张与一个简单的灵敏度缩放分析。这种仪器将大大扩大原子磁力计的应用范围。
Highly sensitive magnetometers capable of measuring magnetic fields below 1 pT have an impact on areas as diverse as geophysical surveying(1), the detection of unexploded ordinance(2), space science(3), nuclear magnetic resonance(4,5), health care(6) and perimeter and remote monitoring. Recently, it has been shown that laboratory optical magnetometers(7,8), based on the precession of the spins of alkali atoms in the vapour phase, could achieve sensitivities in the femtotesla range, comparable to(9-12), or even exceeding(13), those of superconducting quantum interference devices(6). We demonstrate here an atomic magnetometer based on a millimetre-scale microfabricated alkali vapour cell with sensitivity below 70 fT Hz(-1/2). Additionally, we use a simplified optical configuration that requires only a single low-power laser. This result suggests that millimetre-scale, low-power femtotesla magnetometers are feasible, and we support this proposition with a simple sensitivity scaling analysis. Such an instrument would greatly expand the range of applications in which atomic magnetometers could be used.