Measurement with a deployable quantum magnetometer

双共振光泵磁力仪（dr - opm）是一种强大而灵活的量子传感工具，在医疗保健、地磁、制造和基础物理等领域都有应用。在过去的十年中，基础科学和组件微制造的发展大大增加了这些实际应用的影响潜力。opm现在提供飞特斯拉磁场分辨率（地球磁场的十亿分之一灵敏度），只有低温SQUID磁力计才能提供类似的性能。然而，紧凑、便携、无低温的opm可用于SQUID磁力计的尺寸和成本过高的许多应用中。opm将应用于用于医学研究和诊断的便携式心脏磁图和脑磁图，其可扩展性和外形因素为便携式传感器阵列解锁了新的功能。在地磁测量中，OPM磁强计对碱原子能级的固有校准比广泛使用的感应磁强计具有显着优势，为测量，国防和导航提供无需校准的测量。opm也可以配置为谐振窄带检测在sub-MHz频段的振荡磁场，受益于系统的频率不变限制量子噪声源，而不是经典的约翰逊噪声限制电感传感器广泛用于这些信号。这种可调谐的检测模式是低场超极化核磁共振在制药和化工生产中的关键技术。DR-OPMs的灵敏度和准确性在宇宙轴子和畴壁的网络基础物理搜索中也有重要的应用。该项目将专注于DR-OPM配置的开发和演示，以最大限度地提高特定应用的性能。这将需要在实验室中开发传感器模式和控制固件，旨在在优化的测试环境中以量子有限的精度工作，从而实现子系统优化和在实际应用中现场准备原型的演示。技术和系统组件在实验室的发展将导致与我们的最终用户网络合作的现场系统的设计和演示。这项工作将以我们在DR-OPM读出和反馈方案方面的专业知识为基础，并展示了专门子系统设计的能力，包括紧凑型激光光学系统和微制造碱蒸汽电池。随着DR-OPM操作中新技术（如数字自旋微波激射反馈方案）的不断提高，子系统的性能和准备程度也在不断提高，这使得该研究处于关键的转化阶段。基于实验室的研究发展现在具有现场应用和快速影响的潜力。越来越多的终端用户的兴趣是由越来越高性能的设备的技术演示驱动的。该项目将利用这些机会，展示和增强量子传感器在磁强计中的影响，它将成为正在进行的量子技术发展的一个组成部分。

Double-resonance optically pumped magnetometers (DR-OPMs) offer a powerful and flexible quantum sensing tool with applications in healthcare, geomagnetics, manufacturing and fundamental physics. The last decade has seen developments in the underpinning science and component microfabrication which result in greatly increased potential for impact in these real-world applications. OPMs now offer Femtotesla magnetic field resolution (part-per-billion sensitivity in Earth's field), a regime in which only cryogenic SQUID magnetometers offer comparable performance. However, compact, portable, cryogen-free OPMs can be used in many applications where the size and cost of SQUID magnetometers is prohibitive. OPMs will be applied to portable magneto-cardiography and magneto-encephalography for medical research and diagnosis, where their scalability and form factor unlock new capabilities for portable sensor arrays. In geomagnetic measurements the intrinsic calibration of OPM magnetometry against alkali atomic energy levels is a significant advantage over widely-used inductive magnetometers, offering calibration-free measurement for surveying, defence and navigation. OPMs can also be configured for resonant narrowband detection of oscillating magnetic fields in the sub-MHz band, benefiting from the system's frequency-invariant limiting quantum noise sources, rather than the classical Johnson-noise-limited inductive sensors widely used for these signals. This tuneable detection mode is a key technology for low-field hyperpolarised NMR in pharmaceutical and chemical manufacture. The sensitivity and accuracy of DR-OPMs also has important applications in networked fundamental physics searches for cosmological axions and domain walls. This project will focus on the development and demonstration of DR-OPM configurations tailored to maximise performance in specific applications. This will entail the development of sensor modes and control firmware in the laboratory, aiming to work at quantum-limited precision in an optimised test environment, leading on to sub-system optimisation and demonstration of field-ready prototypes in real-world applications. The development of techniques and system components in the lab will lead forward to the design and demonstration of field systems in collaboration with our network of end users. This work will build on our expertise in DR-OPM readout and feedback schemes and demonstrated capability in specialised subsystem design, including compact laser-optical systems and micro-fabricated alkali vapour cells. The combination of increasing subsystem performance and readiness with new techniques in DR-OPM operation, such as digital spin maser feedback schemes, places this research at a critical translational stage. Laboratory-based research developments now have potential for field application and rapid impact. Increasing end-user interest is driven by technology demonstration with increasingly high-performance devices. This project will exploit these opportunities, demonstrating and enhancing the impact of quantum sensors in magnetometry, and it will be an integral part of ongoing quantum technology development.