Ultrasensitive SERF atomic magnetometer with a miniaturized hybrid vapor cell

作者：Yintao Ma, Yao Chen, Mingzhi Yu, Yanbin Wang, Shun Lu, Ju Guo, Guoxi Luo, Libo Zhao, Ping Yang, Qijing Lin, Zhuangde Jiang · 发表于：Microsystems & Nanoengineering · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1038/s41378-024-00758-6 · 被引用次数：56 · 研究领域：Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research、Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications、Quantum optics and atomic interactions

Abstract The chip-scale hybrid optical pumping spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) atomic magnetometer with a single-beam arrangement has prominent applications in biomagnetic measurements because of its outstanding features, including ultrahigh sensitivity, an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio, homogeneous spin polarization and a much simpler optical configuration than other devices. In this work, a miniaturized single-beam hybrid optical pumping SERF atomic magnetometer based on a microfabricated atomic vapor cell is demonstrated. Although the optically thin Cs atoms are spin-polarized, the dense Rb atoms determine the experimental results. The enhanced signal strength and narrowed resonance linewidth are experimentally proven, which shows the superiority of the proposed magnetometer scheme. By using a differential detection scheme, we effectively suppress optical noise with an approximate five-fold improvement. Moreover, the cell temperature markedly affects the performance of the magnetometer. We systematically investigate the effects of temperature on the magnetometer parameters. The theoretical basis for these effects is explained in detail. The developed miniaturized magnetometer has an optimal magnetic sensitivity of 20 fT/Hz 1/2 . The presented work provides a foundation for the chip-scale integration of ultrahighly sensitive quantum magnetometers that can be used for forward-looking magnetocardiography (MCG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) applications.