Reflected Atomic Magnetometer With Single Beam

A reflected atomic magnetometer with single beam is described in this study. A single beam propagates forward for polarizing the atoms and backward for detecting Larmor precession after reflection. The feasibility of the system was studied theoretically and experimentally and compared with the single beam with ellipticity. In reflected scheme, high pump efficiency ensures a reduced power and more flexible operating wavelength considering the AC Stark shift, pump efficiency, and probe signal. The nonuniform optical rotation distribution along the cell was also analyzed. The wavelength of the system was optimized to 795.3 nm. The magnetic field sensitivity of the system is achieved to be 600 fT/Hz ^1/2 and the experimental bandwidth was 17 Hz. The compact design enables new possibility of the atomic magnetometer for magnetoencephalography systems.