Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2610.32795

A Compact Single-Beam Optically Pumped Magnetometer Based on Absorption Detection

Jia-You Liou·Yi-Hsuan Chen·Hsiang-An Chuang·Chih-Hsuan Huang·Zong-Hsin Liu·I-Chiao Tsai·Kai-Hsin Peng·Yi-Hsin Chen
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We demonstrate a compact single-beam optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) employing a pure 87Rb microfabricated vapor cell with 500 Torr buffer gas. The residual magnetic field is actively minimized to below 400 pT through a combination of mu-metal magnetic shielding and internal compensation coils. We systematically characterize the OPM response as a function of laser detuning and optical intensity, and derive the magnetic-field sensitivity from the signal slope and noise amplitude spectral density. A best sensitivity of 11 fT/Hz^1/2 is achieved near the resonance transition at an optimal optical intensity, using a small cell volume of only 0.027 cm^3. Furthermore, a miniaturized OPM prototype was developed using a folded flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) to integrate the vapor cell, a compact heater, and magnetic-field coils into a cubic sensing head. Two coil configurations patterned directly on the FPCB were investigated. Under optimized operating conditions, the OPM prototype achieved a sensitivity of 66 fT/Hz^1/2. These results demonstrate that high-buffer-pressure single-beam OPMs can achieve excellent sensitivity, establishing a pathway toward compact and scalable arrays.

Explore related subjects

physics.atom-phphysics.app-phphysics.optics

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Jia-You Liou, Yi-Hsuan Chen, Hsiang-An Chuang, Chih-Hsuan Huang, Zong-Hsin Liu, I-Chiao Tsai, Kai-Hsin Peng, Yi-Hsin Chen. 2026-10-23. A Compact Single-Beam Optically Pumped Magnetometer Based on Absorption Detection. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.32795

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Rydberg atomic field-enhanced feed beyond electrically small antennas

The reception of electromagnetic signals becomes increasingly challenging at longer wavelengths, as conventional antenna feeds must scale with the operating wavelength, making it difficult to reconcile compactness with high sensitivity. Rydberg atoms enable direct field-to-optical conversion within deeply subwavelength sensing volumes, yet an effective receiving feed that couples incident fields into the atomic interaction volume remains underdeveloped. Here, we introduce a Rydberg atomic field-enhanced feed (RAFEF) that integrates electromagnetic field capture and enhancement with Rydberg-atomic transduction. We establish a physical model to quantify its receiving capability, Phi, that jointly accounts for sensitivity enhancement, receiving bandwidth and normalized three-dimensional volume, and experimentally obtain Phi_dB = 70.81 dB. Compared with a conventional loop-antenna feed, the RAFEF provides a higher received SNR and overall receiving capability, while its tunable narrowband response enables frequency selectivity directly at the receiving-feed stage. We further demonstrate selective recovery of a target channel from simultaneously incident signals and reception of a 93.5 MHz FM broadcast after approximately 10 km of over-the-air propagation. These results establish the RAFEF as an atomic receiving-feed architecture that exploits localized electric-field transduction to extend Rydberg-atomic reception beyond conventional electrically small antenna feeds.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2026

A low-volume cold-atom microwave clock with an additively manufactured cavity

We present the performance of a compact microwave interrogated atomic clock based on laser cooled $^{87}$$\rm{Rb}$ atoms. The clock utilizes a micro-fabricated grating magneto-optical trap (gMOT) to cool and trap atoms, and an additively manufactured microwave cavity for microwave interrogation. We demonstrate a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of $370$ at a 1 Hz bandwidth and mid-term instability of $6.7\times10^{-14}$ at an averaging time of $τ=3 \times 10^{4}$ s. In addition, a low cost mu-metal foil has been implemented on the vacuum chamber to reduce the quadratic Zeeman shift which was previously limiting stability beyond $τ= 10$ s.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2026

Nuclear recoil effects with a realistic nuclear charge form factor

We introduce a novel two-parameter Gamma model of the nuclear charge distribution as an alternative to the widely used Fermi distribution. The model yields simple analytical formulas for all moments of the charge distribution and closed-form expressions for the electrostatic potential and momentum-space form factor, the latter satisfying the correct analyticity requirements for a physical charged particle. We apply the model to calculate the nuclear recoil correction to the Lamb shift in electronic and muonic atoms and analyze its nuclear-model dependence. We find that the nuclear-size recoil corrections to energy levels of heavy muonic atoms are strongly sensitive to higher moments of the nuclear charge distribution, highlighting the importance of realistic nuclear modeling. To facilitate further calculations, we also provide the Fortran code RECFNS, designed for computing the nuclear recoil correction within the QED framework. The present work establishes a basis for future extensions to higher orders in the electron-to-nucleus mass ratio, hyperfine splitting, and radiative corrections.

physics.atom-ph↗