Remote Chip-Scale Quantum Sensing of Magnetic Fields

TL;DR

This paper introduces a remote quantum sensing method using chip-scale atomic vapor cells to measure Earth's magnetic field from 10 meters away with high sensitivity, enabling new applications in various fields.

Contribution

It demonstrates the first remote interrogation of microfabricated vapor cells for magnetic field measurement at a distance of about 10 meters.

Findings

Achieved magnetic field sensitivity of ~1 pT/Hz^0.5

Successfully measured distance via time-of-flight

Enabled remote mapping of magnetic fields in unshielded environments

Abstract

Quantum sensing is an ever-evolving research field describing the use of a quantum phenomenon to perform measurement of a physical quantity. Amongst different types of quantum sensors, atomic vapor-based quantum effects are extensively used to measure quantities such as time, velocity, acceleration, and electric and magnetic fields. Here, we propose and demonstrate remote quantum sensing using a chip-scale atomic vapor cell. Specifically, we remotely interrogate mm-scale micromachined vapor cells, and measure the ambient Earth's magnetic field at a standoff distance of ~10 meters and a sensitivity of ~1 pT/Hz^0.5 . Simultaneously we are able measure the distance between micro-cell and the interrogating system by means of time-of-flight measurements, thus correlating between position and magnetic field. Consequently, we provide a novel toolset to measure and map arbitrary, remote, and hard to access magnetic field in unshielded environments with high sensitivity and spatial resolution, paving the way to a variety of novel applications in diverse fields such as medicine, communication, defense, space-exploration, and quantum technologies.