SBIR Phase I: Magnetometer Based on Spin Wave Interferometer

该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过提供一个敏感的，坚固的，室温操作磁强计。磁力计是各种应用中使用最广泛的仪器之一，包括医疗保健、运输安全、食品污染监测和国土安全。事实上，对磁场传感器日益增长的需求体现在16亿美元的全球市场和快速增长的医疗领域。至于今天，最大的灵敏度是由超导量子干涉装置提供的。高灵敏度对医学应用至关重要。然而，这种高灵敏度只能在低温下才能在超导器件中实现。所提出的基于自旋波干涉仪的磁强计具有高灵敏度和室温操作的特点。这种组合通过降低设备成本大大改善了医疗保健，通过提供更精确的交通控制提高了运输安全，通过检测微量重金属浓度提高了食品安全监测。一种兼具超导器件的高灵敏度和室温操作的磁强计，将对社会大有裨益。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目通过提供基于自旋波干涉仪的磁力计，解决了对敏感和室温工作磁场传感器的需求。市场上有不同类型的磁传感器。到目前为止，超导量子干涉装置提供了高达阿特斯拉的最大灵敏度。然而，这种高灵敏度只能在低温下实现。后者使得超导磁力计价格昂贵，限制了其实际应用。所提出的磁力计是基于自旋波干涉和自由的约束固有的超导器件。研究目标包括开发和演示一种紧凑、不昂贵的磁强计，其灵敏度高达阿特斯拉，工作温度范围从低温到560k。拟议研究的结果将对商业、国防和国土安全应用产生影响，这些应用需要越来越精确和强大的磁传感器。紧凑型、高灵敏度磁强计的发展也将与生物传感和生物医学应用密切相关。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is through providing a sensitive, robust, room temperature operating magnetometer. Magnetometers are among the most widely used instruments in a variety of applications including healthcare, transportation safety, food contamination monitoring, and homeland security. In fact, the growing need for magnetic field sensors manifests itself in the $1.6 billion global market with a fast-growing medical segment. As for today, the maximum sensitivity is provided by the Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices. The high sensitivity is critically important for medical applications. However, this high sensitivity can be achieved in the superconducting devices only at cryogenic temperatures. The proposed magnetometer based on spin wave interferometer combines high sensitivity with room temperature operation. This combination provides a great improvement in healthcare by reducing the cost of equipment, in transportation safety enhancement by providing more accurate traffic control, and in food safety monitoring by detecting small concentrations of heavy metals. It will be of great benefit to society to have a magnetometer combining the high sensitivity of superconducting devices and room temperature operation.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need for sensitive and room temperature operating magnetic field sensors by providing a magnetometer based on spin wave interferometer. There are different types of magnetic sensors available on the market. As of today, the maximum sensitivity up to attoTesla is provided by the Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices. However, this high sensitivity can be achieved only at cryogenic temperatures. The latter makes superconducting magnetometers expensive and limits its practical application. The proposed magnetometer is based on spin wave interference and free of constraints inherent in superconducting devices. The research objectives encompass the development and demonstration of a compact, non-expensive magnetometer with up to attoTesla sensitivity operating in a temperature range from cryogenic to 560 K. The outcomes of the proposed research will have an impact on commercial, defense and homeland security applications that need increasingly precise and robust magnetic sensors. The development of compact and high-sensitive magnetometer will be relevant to bio-sensing and bio-medical applications as well.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.