Single-beam all-optical non-zero field magnetometric sensor for magnetoencephalography applications

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simplified all-optical magnetometric sensor using a single laser beam for magnetoencephalography, eliminating radio frequency fields and maintaining high sensitivity.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel single-beam method for magnetic field measurement that simplifies existing schemes and is suitable for sensor arrays in MEG applications.

Findings

Demonstrated effective magnetic field measurement with the proposed method.

Showed potential for use in challenging magnetoencephalographic tasks.

Significantly simplified the Bell-Bloom magnetometric scheme.

Abstract

We present a method for measuring the magnetic field that allows hyperfine and Zeeman optical pumping, excitation and detection of magnetic resonance by means of a single laser beam with time-modulated ellipticity. This improvement allows us to significantly simplify the Bell-Bloom magnetometric scheme, while retaining its sensitivity. The method does not require the use of radio frequency fields, which is essential when creating arrays of sensors. The results of experimental studies demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method and its potential applicability in most challenging magnetoencephalographic tasks.