I-Corps: Atomic High Magnetic Field Sensors

所追求的技术基于一种测量方法，该方法利用包含处于高激发态(里德堡态)的原子的气室作为强磁场的传感器。原子强磁场传感器的主要特点是：(1)由于原子的恒定响应用于场检测，这些传感器的操作本质上是校准和无漂移的，(2)传感器具有高精度和大测量范围，(3)传感器头中不存在检测磁场可能有问题的金属部件(全光信号读出)，(4)传感器具有高空间分辨率成像能力，以及(5)传感器不受电磁干扰(EMI)影响。1-100特斯拉范围内的强磁场在科学和工程环境中正变得越来越重要。世界各地的大学实验室和政府资助的研究机构对这类领域的需求越来越大，并用于改进工业加工技术。在医学领域，强大的磁铁继续推动磁共振成像(MRI)产品和系统的改进。强磁场科学和应用的进步继续直接受益于强磁场检测和控制的改进，推动了对能够在不同的强磁场环境中进行传感和测量的设备的需求，对设备的性能能力提出了越来越严格的要求-S。它计划开发一种强磁场传感器，其感应头是无电极、无金属、基于原子光谱学的。里德堡原子对待测场的响应是使用电磁诱导透明(EIT)来检测的，这是一种量子光学方法，可以在不需要真空系统和粒子探测器的情况下对里德堡能级进行全光学测量。使用里德堡原子EIT(激光、电子学、数据采集和处理)测量强磁场所需的大部分基础设施已经从以前的工作中存在于实验室中。该团队已经准备了一个由强大的永久磁铁(场强约为1特斯拉)围绕光谱池组成的装置。测试将包括有用的视场范围、分辨率和精度以及探测带宽。计划在一个可以提供6到9特斯拉磁场的强超导磁体中进行一到两次测试。该团队认为，与市场上现有的传感器相比，待开发的传感器技术可以具有明显的竞争优势。这项工作对科学、科学应用以及最终对市场的潜在贡献是开发用于强磁场测量和成像应用的原子传感器，其性能特征解决了现有强磁场传感器和测量技术的局限性。潜在客户包括具有高磁场能力和检测需求的国家实验室，如粒子对撞机、等离子体物理实验室和国家高磁场实验室，工业材料制造商、医用核磁共振研发中心，以及航空航天、汽车和国防行业的电磁合规(EMC)/EMI测试实验室。

The pursued technology is based on a measurement approach that utilizes vapor cells containing atoms in highly excited states (Rydberg states) that function as sensors for strong magnetic fields. Key features of the atomic high magnetic field sensor are: (1) since the invariable response of atoms is used for the field detection, the operation of these sensors is intrinsically calibration- and drift-free, (2) the sensors exhibit high precision and a large measurement range, (3) metallic components that may be problematic with sensing magnetic fields are not present in the sensor head (all-optical signal readout), (4) the sensors have high-spatial-resolution imaging capability, and (5) the sensors are immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI) effects. High magnetic fields in the range of 1-100 Tesla are becoming increasingly important in science and engineering settings. There is growing demand for such fields at university laboratories and government-funded research facilities around the world, and for use in improved industrial processing techniques. In medicine, strong magnets continue to drive improvements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) products and systems. Advances in high-magnetic-field science and applications continue to benefit directly from improvements in the detection and control of strong magnetic fields, driving demand for devices capable of sensing and measurement in different high-magnetic-field environments with ever-more stringent requirements on the device?s performance capabilities. It is planned to develop a high-magnetic-field sensor with a sensor head that is electrode-free, metal-free, and based on atomic spectroscopy. The response of the Rydberg atoms to the fields to be measured is detected using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), a quantum-optics method that allows all-optical measurements of Rydberg energy levels without need for vacuum systems and particle detectors. Much of the infrastructure required for measuring strong magnetic fields using Rydberg-atom EIT (lasers, electronics, data acquisition and processing) is already present in the laboratory from previous work. The team has already prepared a setup consisting of strong permanent magnets (field about one Tesla) surrounding the spectroscopic cell. The testing will include the useful field range, the resolution and accuracy, and the detection bandwidth. It is planned to perform one or two test runs within a strong superconducting magnet that can provide 6 to 9 Tesla of magnetic field. The team believes that the sensor technology to be developed can have distinct competitive advantages over current sensors on the market. The potential contribution of the work to science, scientific applications and eventually to the market is the development of atomic sensors for strong-magnetic-field measurement and imaging applications, with performance characteristics that address limitations of existing high-magnetic-field sensor and measurement technologies. The potential customers include national laboratories with high-magnetic-field capabilities and detection needs, such as particle colliders, plasma physics labs, and the National High Magnetic Field Lab, industrial materials manufacturers, medical MRI research and development centers, and electromagnetic compliance (EMC)/EMI testing laboratories in the aerospace, automotive, and defense industries.