We demonstrate the use of a hybrid $^{3}$He / $^{87}$Rb magnetometer to measure absolute magnetic fields in the pT range. The measurements were undertaken by probing time-dependent $^3$He magnetisation using $^{87}$Rb zero-field magnetometers. Measurements were taken to demonstrate the use of the magnetometer in cancelling residual fields within a magnetic shield. It was shown that the absolute field could be reduced to the 10 pT level by using field readings from the magnetometer. Furthermore, the hybrid magnetometer was shown to be applicable for the reduction of gradient fields by optimising the effective $^3$He $T_2$ time. This procedure represents a convenient and consistent way to provide a near zero magnetic field environment which can be potentially used as a base for generating desired magnetic field configurations for use in precision measurements.
We demonstrate an optically pumped $^{87}$Rb magnetometer in a microfabricated vapor cell based on a zero-field dispersive resonance generated by optical modulation of the $^{87}$Rb ground state energy levels. The magnetometer is operated in the spin-exchange relaxation-free regime where high magnetic field sensitivities can be achieved. This device can be useful in applications requiring array-based magnetometers where radio frequency magnetic fields can induce cross-talk among adjacent sensors or affect the source of the magnetic field being measured.
We demonstrate remote detection of rotating machinery, using an atomic magnetometer at room temperature and in an unshielded environment. The system relies on the coupling of the AC magnetic signature of the target with the spin-polarized, precessing atomic vapor of a radio-frequency optical atomic magnetometer. The AC magnetic signatures of rotating equipment or electric motors appear as sidebands in the power spectrum of the atomic sensor, which can be tuned to avoid noisy bands that would otherwise hamper detection. A portable apparatus is implemented and experimentally tested. Proof-of-concept investigations are performed with test targets mimicking possible applications, and the operational conditions for optimum detection are determined. Our instrument provides comparable or better performance than a commercial fluxgate and allows detection of rotating machinery behind a wall. These results demonstrate the potential for ultrasensitive devices for remote industrial and usage monitoring, security, and surveillance.
We describe a 3He magnetometer capable to measure high magnetic fields (B > 0.1 Tesla) with a relative accuracy of better than 10^-12. Our approach is based on the measurement of the free induction decay of gaseous, nuclear spin polarized 3He following a resonant radio frequency pulse excitation. The measurement sensitivity can be attributed to the long coherent spin precession time T2* being of order minutes which is achieved for spherical sample cells in the regime of motional narrowing where the disturbing influence of field inhomogeneities is strongly suppressed. The 3He gas is spin polarized in-situ using a new, non-standard variant of the metastability exchange optical pumping. We show that miniaturization helps to increase T2* further and that the measurement sensitivity is not significantly affected by temporal field fluctuations of order 10^-4.
We present an optical-electronic approach to generating microwave signals with high spectral purity. By circumventing shot noise and operating near fundamental thermal limits, we demonstrate 10 GHz signals with an absolute timing jitter for a single hybrid oscillator of 420 attoseconds (1Hz - 5 GHz).
We have realized Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of 87Rb in the F=2, m_F=2 hyperfine substate in a hybrid trap, consisting of a quadrupole magnetic field and a single optical dipole beam. The symmetry axis of the quadrupole magnetic trap coincides with the optical beam axis, which gives stronger axial confinement than previous hybrid traps. After loading 2x10^6 atoms at 14 muK from a quadrupole magnetic trap into the hybrid trap, we perform efficient forced evaporation and reach the onset of BEC at a temperature of 0.5 muK and with 4x10^5 atoms. We also obtain thermal clouds of 1x10^6 atoms below 1 muK in a pure single beam optical dipole trap, by ramping down the magnetic field gradient after evaporative cooling in the hybrid trap.