Atomic magnetic gradiometer for room temperature high sensitivity magnetic field detection

US7573264B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The Regents of the University of California · US

Inventors

• Shoujun Xu · Houston, US
• Thomas Lowery · Belmont, US
• Dmitry Budker · Corona, US
• Valeriy V. Yashchuk · Richmond, US
• David Wemmer · Berkeley, US
• Alexander Pines · Berkeley, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 27, 2006
• Grant date: Aug 11, 2009
• Expiry date: Apr 3, 2027

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01R33/26
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A laser-based atomic magnetometer (LBAM) apparatus measures magnetic fields, comprising: a plurality of polarization detector cells to detect magnetic fields; a laser source optically coupled to the polarization detector cells; and a signal detector that measures the laser source after being coupled to the polarization detector cells, which may be alkali cells. A single polarization cell may be used for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) by prepolarizing the nuclear spins of an analyte, encoding spectroscopic and/or spatial information, and detecting NMR signals from the analyte with a laser-based atomic magnetometer to form NMR spectra and/or magnetic resonance images (MRI). There is no need of a magnetic field or cryogenics in the detection step, as it is detected through the LBAM.