An Optically Pumped Magnetometer with Omnidirectional Magnetic Field Sensitivity.

In mobile applications such as geomagnetic surveying, two major effects hamper the use of optically pumped magnetometers: dead zones, sensor orientations where the sensors signal amplitude drops; and heading errors, a dependence of the measured magnetic field value on the sensor orientation. We present a concept for an omnidirectional magnetometer to overcome both of these effects. The sensor uses two cesium vapor cells, interrogated by circularly-polarized amplitude-modulated laser light split into two beams propagating perpendicular to each other.

An Optically Pumped Magnetometer Working in the Light-Shift Dispersed Mz Mode.

We present an optically pumped magnetometer working in a new operational mode-the light-shift dispersed Mz (LSD-Mz) mode. It is realized combining various features; (1) high power off-resonant optical pumping; (2) Mz configuration, where pumping light and magnetic field of interest are oriented parallel to each other; (3) use of small alkali metal vapor cells of identical properties in integrated array structures, where two such cells are pumped by circularly polarized light of opposite helicity; and (4) subtraction of the Mz signals of these two cells. The LSD-Mz magnetometer's performance depends on the inherent and very complex interplay of input parameters.

Dichroic atomic vapor laser lock with multi-gigahertz stabilization range.

A dichroic atomic vapor laser lock (DAVLL) system exploiting buffer-gas-filled millimeter-scale vapor cells is presented. This system offers similar stability as achievable with conventional DAVLL system using bulk vapor cells, but has several important advantages. In addition to its compactness, it may provide continuous stabilization in a multi-gigahertz range around the optical transition.

Light-shift suppression in a miniaturized Mx optically pumped Cs magnetometer array with enhanced resonance signal using off-resonant laser pumping.

The performance of an optically pumped Mx magnetometer with miniaturized Cs cell at earth's magnetic field strength (50 μT) is investigated. Operation using detuned high intensity laser light is shown to be superior to the conventional resonant operation in terms of the projected shot-noise-limited ( 50 fT/√Hz) and the actual noise-limited sensitivity using a noise compensation method. The Zeeman light shift effect, emerging due to the off-resonant circularly polarized laser radiation and leading to a strong orientational dependence of the measurement, is suppressed by averaging two identical magnetometer configurations pumped with oppositely circularly polarized light.

A full optically operated magnetometer array: an experimental study.

We show the operation of an optically pumped magnetometer array in a 50 μT magnetic field. The various components for a fully optical and non-magnetic detector unit were constructed and evaluated, from which a prototype unit was assembled with fiber coupled electronics. In this unit the magnetometers were operated using the intensity modulated method and heated with an off-resonant laser.