Herriott-cavity-assisted all-optical atomic vector magnetometer

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel all-optical atomic vector magnetometer using dual optical pumping beams and a Herriott cavity to enhance sensitivity, capable of measuring magnetic field orientation with high precision.

Contribution

The work introduces a Herriott-cavity-assisted design for an all-optical atomic vector magnetometer with improved sensitivity and field angle measurement capabilities.

Findings

Achieved field angle sensitivity better than 10 μrad/Hz^{1/2} above 10 Hz.

Demonstrated operation in magnetic fields from 100 mG to 500 mG.

Enhanced sensitivity through cavity integration.

Abstract

We report an all-optical atomic vector magnetometer using dual Bell-Bloom optical pumping beams in a Rb vapor cell. This vector magnetometer consists of two orthogonal optical pumping beams, with amplitude modulations at $^{85}$Rb and $^{87}$Rb Larmor frequencies respectively. We simultaneously detect atomic signals excited by these two pumping beams using a single probe beam in the third direction, and extract the field orientation information using the phase delays between the modulated atomic signals and the driving beams. By adding a Herriott cavity inside the vapor cell, we improve the magnetometer sensitivity. We study the performance of this vector magnetometer in a magnetic field ranging from 100~mG to 500~mG, and demonstrate a field angle sensitivity better than 10~${\mu}$rad/Hz$^{1/2}$ above 10~Hz.