An all-optical intrinsic atomic gradiometer with sub-20 fT/cm/$\sqrt{\rm Hz}$ sensitivity in a 22 $\mu$T earth-scale magnetic field

TL;DR

This paper presents an all-optical atomic gradiometer with sub-20 fT/cm/√Hz sensitivity operating at earth magnetic field levels, achieved through a specialized light-pulse sequence and differential measurement within a vapor cell.

Contribution

The work introduces a novel all-optical atomic gradiometer capable of high sensitivity in earth-field environments, with tunable timing sequences for different magnetic field strengths.

Findings

Sensitivity below 20 fT/cm/√Hz at 22 μT field

Differential measurement within a single vapor cell

Potential for multi-dimensional and vector magnetic sensing

Abstract

In this work we demonstrate a high sensitivity atomic gradiometer capable of operation in earth-field level environments. We apply a light-pulse sequence at four times the Larmor frequency to achieve gradiometer sensitivity <20 fT/cm/$\sqrt{\rm Hz}$ at the finite field strength of 22 $\mu$T. The experimental timing sequence can be tuned to the field magnitude of interest. Our one dimensional all-optical gradiometer performs a differential measurement between two regions of a single vapor cell on a 4 cm baseline. Our results pave the way for extensions to operation in higher dimensions, vector sensitivity, and more advanced gradiometers.