Comparison of discharge lamp and laser pumped cesium magnetometers

Groeger, Stefan; Pazgalev, Anatoly S.; Weis, Antoine

doi:10.1007/s00340-005-1773-x

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Journal article

Comparison of discharge lamp and laser pumped cesium magnetometers

Groeger, Stefan Physics Department, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland - Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
Pazgalev, Anatoly S. Physics Department, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland - Ioffe Physical Technical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
Weis, Antoine Physics Department, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland

17.03.2005

Published in:

Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics. - 2005, vol. 80(6), p. 645 - 654

English We have performed a comparison of laser (LsOPM) and lamp (LpOPM) pumped cesium vapor magnetometers. Although the LsOPM operated 50% above its shot- noise limit we found an intrinsic sensitivity of 15 fT/√Hz and 25 fT/√Hz for the LsOPM and the LpOPM, respectively. Two modes of operation, viz. the phase-stabilized and the self-oscillating modes, were investigated and found to yield a similar performance. We have compared the performance of the LsOPM and the LpOPM directly by simultaneous measurements of field fluctuations of a 2-μT magnetic field inside a multilayer magnetic shield and have used one of the magnetometers for an active field stabilization. In the stabilized mode we found a gradient instability of 25 fT within an integration time of 100 s, which represents an upper limit of the long-term stability of the magnetometers. Our research is motivated by the need for an improved control of magnetic fields and gradients in a planned neutron electric dipole experiment.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Physique

Language