Field-Polarization Sensitivity in rf Atomic Magnetometers

Published

February 4, 2019

Author(s)

Vladislav P. Gerginov

Abstract

We demonstrate the sensitivity of an optically-pumped atomic RF magnetometer to the polarization state of the detected RF magnetic field, and measure 33 dB difference in amplitude sensitivity for opposite circular field polarizations. This sensitivity could be used to create magnetometer configurations that would allow signal detection while suppressing the ambient noise, regardless of the distance between the sources of signal and noise, in contrast to traditional gradiometry configurations. Additionally, the phase of the detected signal is shown to depend on the angle between the magnetometer's detection axis and the direction to the transmitter, which would allow to build an orientation-sensitive sensor.

Citation

Physical Review Applied

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

atomic magnetometer, noise suppression

Citation

Gerginov, V. (2019), Field-Polarization Sensitivity in rf Atomic Magnetometers, Physical Review Applied, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=926711 (Accessed October 10, 2025)