A microfabricated photonic magnetometer

Published

June 14, 2009

Author(s)

Jan Preusser, Svenja A. Knappe, Vladislav Gerginov, John E. Kitching

Abstract

A system for sensing magnetic fields is proposed, composed of an array of passive microfabricated alkali atom sensor heads coupled to a control unit using only optical interconnects. The optical coupling can be achieved by either free-space transmission of the interrogation and heating light, or through optical fiber links. The temperature of the sensor can be stabilized by monitoring the reflected or transmitted light power near DC while the magnetic field information is deduced simultaneously by detecting a modulation on the light power. A microfabricated sensor head, with a vapor cell of interior volume of 1 mm3 and fiber links connecting it to a control unit, is demonstrated experimentally. When operated in a scalar sensor mode in a field with a magnitude close to the earth’s field, a sensitivity of 3 pT/Hz1/2 was measured. In a low-field environment the sensor can be operated as a directional magnetometer with a sensitivity of 130 fT/Hz1/2. The design allows for arrays of a large number of small low-power sensors fabricated in an inexpensive way with widely variable sensor sizes and spacings.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the 2009 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

Conference Dates

June 14-15, 2009

Conference Location

Baltimore, MD

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

atomic magnetometer, MEMS, atomic spectroscopy, remote sensing

Citation

Preusser, J. , Knappe, S. , Gerginov, V. and Kitching, J. (2009), A microfabricated photonic magnetometer, Proceedings of the 2009 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, Baltimore, MD (Accessed October 11, 2025)