Characteristics and performance of an intensity-modulated optically pumped magnetometer in comparison to the classical M(x) magnetometer.
We compare the performance of two methods for the synchronization of the atomic spins in optically pumped magnetometers: intensity modulation of the pump light and the classical M(x) method using B(1) field modulation. Both techniques use the same set-up and measure the resulting features of the light after passing a micro-fabricated Cs cell. The intensity-modulated pumping shows several advantages: better noise-limited magnetic field sensitivity, misalignment between pumping and spin synchronization is excluded, and magnetometer arrays without any cross-talk can be easily set up.
Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, D-07745 Jena, Germany. volkmar.schultze@ipht-jena.de
Volkmar
V
Schultze
Rob
R
Ijsselsteijn
Theo
T
Scholtes
Stefan
S
Woetzel
Hans-Georg
HG
Meyer
D000669:Amplifiers, Electronic; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007834:Lasers; D060306:Magnetometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity