A chip-scale atomic magnetometer with improved sensitivity using the Mx technique

Published

February 26, 2007

Author(s)

P Schwindt, Brad Lindseth, Svenja A. Knappe, V Shah, John E. Kitching, Li-Anne Liew

Abstract

We discuss the fabrication and performance of a miniature optically pumped atomic magnetometer constructed using microfabricated components. This device measures the spin precession frequency of an alkali atom to determine the magnetic field using the M_x technique. It has a demonstrated sensitivity to magnetic fields of 5 pT / Hz^1/2 between 1 and 100 Hz bandwidth, nearly an order of magnitude improvement over a previous chip-scale magnetometer. We have also increased the 3 dB bandwidth to 1 kHz by reconfiguring the miniature vapor cell heater to produce very little perturbing magnetic field. The magnetic sensor has a size of 25 mm³ and consumes 194 mW of power, and the potential for wafer-level fabrication and assembly of the components may result in low unit cost for mass-produced devices.

Citation

Applied Physics Letters

Volume

90

Issue

081102

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

magnetometers, microfabrication, optical pumping

Citation

Schwindt, P. , Lindseth, B. , Knappe, S. , Shah, V. , Kitching, J. and Liew, L. (2007), A chip-scale atomic magnetometer with improved sensitivity using the M_x technique, Applied Physics Letters, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=50414 (Accessed October 2, 2025)