Improvement of the spin polarization lifetime in the 85Rb vapor cell by octadecyltrichlorosilane coating

Effective surface coatings allow for long spin polarization in alkali metal cells, suppressing the magnetic field gradient effect and providing an improvement in atomic magnetometer sensitivity. In this work, the effect of an octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) surface coating on the longitudinal and transverse spin polarization lifetime of an optically pumped ⁸⁵Rb vapor cell has been studied. Our results showed that the spin polarization lifetime significantly increased in the OTS lined cell compared to the unlined cell. The relaxation rate due to alkali metal atoms wall collisions and the magnetic field gradient has been decreased by using an OTS surface coating. A longer spin polarization lifetime in the lined cell causes a narrower magnetic resonance line width and subsequently a more sensitive atomic magnetometer.     

Features of the Magnetic Resonance of an Alkali Metal upon Biharmonic Pumping

The dynamics of spin projections of the electron shell of an alkali metal on the coordinate axis is considered in the electron paramagnetic resonance scheme with continuous pumping by biharmonic circularly polarized laser radiation. The working region is a cell with alkali vapor metal vapors and a buffer gas at a high concentration at temperature 60°C. It was found that the use of biharmonic pumping causes not only the expected electron-spin precession, but also pulsations of the electron-spin projection on the axis along which the magnetic field is directed. The frequency of these pulsations depends on the nuclear angular momentum of alkali metal atoms. In the case of the transverse electron magnetic resonance, this effect is absent.     

基于原子吸收光谱的碱金属气室内多种混合气体压强测量方法

碱金属气室是基于原子无自旋交换碰撞弛豫的超高灵敏惯性和磁场测量装置的核心敏感器件。碱金属气室内气体的含量会对原子的弛豫以及系统其他参数的选取产生很大的影响,因此精密测量气室内混合气体各自的压强具有重要的意义。当气室内存在气体时谱线会出现压力展宽和频移,且压力展宽远大于自然展宽和多普勒展宽,因此仅考虑压力展宽。利用压力展宽、频移的大小与气体压强存在的函数关系,提出一种基于原子吸收光谱的碱金属气室内多种混合气体压强测量方法。通过扫描碱金属原子的吸收光谱,得到光学深度曲线,并用洛伦兹函数对其拟合,测得多种混合气体引起的单种碱金属原子的混叠压力展宽和频移,再根据已知的单种、单位压强气体引起的单种碱金属原子的压力展宽和频移,联立计算得到多种气体各自的压强。当存在n种碱金属时,最多可以测量4n种混合气体的压强。仿真结果表明,该方法适用于入射激光未被原子完全吸收的情况;激光功率和频率的波动在1%～10%的数量级时,测量精度影响低于0.4%的数量级,而温度波动在1%～10%的数量级时,测量精度影响高达30%的数量级。     

Investigation of solid surfaces by nuclear spin polarized alkali atoms

Nuclear spin polarized alkali atom beams are used to investigate metal surfaces. The surface diffusion of the alkali atoms on the surface results in a randomly fluctuating electric field gradient. The relaxation is measured in dependence of the surface temperature. Using an additional external RF field, also NMR measurement can be performed. Besides some fluctuating components of the EFG which cause the relaxation process, there is also a static part of the EFG. This results in an energy splitting of the nuclear spin states and can be detected by the NMR experiments.Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn FRGA.v. Humboldt fellow, on leave from Los Alamos Nat. Lab., USA     

Spectral dependence of polarization of cesium atoms during pumping by a narrowband semiconductor laser

It is found in an experiment with narrowband laser pumping of Cs atoms by light of the D ₂-line that the spectral dependence of the polarization of atoms significantly differs from the spectral dependence of the light absorption by nonpolarized atoms. The difference lies in a partial resolution of the hyperfine structure of the excited 6² P _3/2 state, which remains unresolved in the case of nonpolarized atoms. The shape of the spectral dependence of the atom polarization observed upon pumping with circularly polarized light differs from that in the case of the linear polarized pumping and depends strongly on the buffer gas pressure, which allows one to obtain experimental information on collisional relaxation in the excited state. Calculation for a cell with antirelaxation coating and a cell with helium (6-Torr pressure) gives spectral dependences that are qualitatively consistent with experiment.     

On the effect of photoinduced emission of alkali atoms from a paraffin coating on the rate of spin relaxation of atoms in the volume of a cell

The effect of photoinduced emission of alkali atoms from the paraffin coating of a cell on the spin relaxation time of the atoms was studied experimentally. No effect was detected. It was additionally found that long irradiation of the cell surface by light with a power density of about 1 mW/cm² does not cause any degradation of the coating in spite of almost complete removal of the atoms from the coating due to their photostimulated diffusion in the layer and photodesorption. After the irradiation is complete, the surface contacting with the alkali vapor is again saturated with the alkali atoms with a time constant of about 1 h.     

Relaxation behavior of laser-polarized (129)Xe gas: size dependency and wall effect of the T(1) relaxation time in glass and gelatin bulbs

Size dependency of the relaxation time T(1) was measured for laser-polarized (129)Xe gas encapsulated in different sized cavities made by glass bulbs or gelatin capsules. The use of laser-polarized gas enhances the sensitivity a great deal, making it possible to measure the longer (129)Xe relaxation time in quite a short time. The size dependency is analyzed on the basis of the kinetic theory of gases and a relationship is derived in which the relaxation rate is connected with the square inverse of the diameter of the cavity. Such an analysis provides a novel parameter which denotes the wall effect on the relaxation rate when a gas molecule collides with the surface once in a second. The relaxation time of (129)Xe gas is also dependent on the material which forms the cavity. This dependency is large and the relaxation study using polarized (129)Xe gas is expected to offer important information about the state of the matter of the cavity wall.     

Wall relaxation of spin polarized 129Xe nuclei

The wall relaxation of spin polarized ¹²⁹Xe nuclei is much longer in silicone coated pyrex cells than in uncoated cells. In contrast to uncoated glass cells where the wall relaxation times are unpredictable and usually only a few tens of seconds, the relaxation time of ¹²⁹Xe in silicone-coated cells is usually 20 minutes or longer.     

Surface relaxation of polarized Xe atoms dissolved in deuterated ethanol

We measured the spin relaxation of polarized xenon atoms dissolved in deuterated ethanol. Surface relaxation was suppressed by coating the cell walls with deuterated eicosane. From the dependence of the decay rate on temperature and static magnetic field, we obtained the correlation time of random fluctuations of the local field at the liquid-solid interface. By varying the cell volume, the wall coating, and the surface area of the eicosane, we measured the contribution of the spin-rotation interaction to the relaxation. The use of both deuterated molecules enables us to distinguish surface relaxation from the magnetic dipole-dipole and spin-rotation interactions in solution.     

Effect of a stray magnetic field on nonlinear magneto-optical resonances observed in the geometry of counter-propagating light waves

Magneto-optical resonances of electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) in a cell filled with the vapor of alkali atoms and buffer gas are considered. The atoms are excited using a configuration of electromagnetic fields composed of two counter-propagating linearly polarized light waves and a static magnetic field. We focus on the influence of the residual magnetic field on the parameters of nonlinear resonances. In real experiments, a residual field is always present in the cell due to imperfect magnetic-field shielding. On the basis of calculations, we formulate practical recommendations for controlling the residual magnetic field in the experiments aimed at observation of high-quality EIA resonances. The results from this work can find application in quantum magnetometry and nonlinear optics.     

抽运-检测型非线性磁光旋转铷原子磁力仪的研究

报道了一种抽运-检测型的非线性磁光旋转铷原子磁力仪.其原理是线偏振光通过处于外磁场环境中被极化的原子介质后,由于原子对线偏振光中左、右圆偏成分不同的吸收和色散,导致光的偏振方向会产生与磁场相关的转动.分析了该磁力仪的工作原理,并测试了它对不同磁场大小的响应.测试结果表明,磁力仪测量范围为100—100000 nT,极限灵敏度为0.2 p T/Hz~(1/2),磁场分辨率为0.1 p T.进一步研究了不同磁场下原子系综极化态的横向弛豫时间,讨论了原子磁力仪高磁场采样率的获得方法.本文的原子磁力仪在5000—100000 n T的磁场测量范围内磁场采样率可实现1—1000 Hz范围内可调,能够测量低频的微弱交变磁场.本文的研究内容为大磁场测量范围、高灵敏度、高磁场采样率的原子磁力仪研制提供了重要参考.     

Paramagnetic relaxation of spin polarized 3He at bare glass surfaces

In this first in a series of three papers on wall relaxation of spin polarized, gaseous ³He we investigate both by theory and by experiment surface-induced spin relaxation due to paramagnetic sites in the containing glass. We present experimental and theoretical evidence that — contrary to the traditional opinion — distant dipolar coupling to paramagnetic impurities in the glass, in particular iron ions, cannot be the dominant relaxation mechanism of ³He-spins, although iron dominates the bulk static permeability. Instead dangling-bond type defects in the glass matrix are found to interact much stronger via the isotropic Fermi contact interaction. A model of paramagnetic site controlled ³He relaxation including the Fermi contact interaction is presented. With reasonable semi-empirical assumptions our model allows to describe satisfactorily the measured relaxivities, both in the dissolution-dominated regime of fused silica or borosilicate glasses of the Pyrex type as well as in the surface dominated situation of aluminosilicate glasses which have only a low permeability for He atoms. In a large sample of 1.1 litre cells, built from various aluminosilicate glasses, an average relaxation time of 150 h is reached in case contaminant ferromagnetic particles have been demagnetized beforehand. From the maximum observed value of 250 h we derive after subtraction of dipolar relaxation in the gas phase a paramagnetic surface relaxivity of ρ<0.005 cm/h at room temperature.     

Studying the regime of complete decoupling of the bond between the electron and nuclear moments at the <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis><Subscript>1</Subscript>-line of the <Superscript>39</Superscript>K potassium isotope using a spectroscopic microcell

Atomic transitions of the ³⁹K potassium isotope in strong (up to 1 kG) longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields have been studied with a high spectral resolution. It has been shown that crossover resonances are almost absent in the saturated absorption spectrum of potassium vapors in a 30-μm-thick microcell. This, together with the small spectral width of atomic transitions (~30 MHz), allows one to use the saturated absorption spectrum for determining frequencies and probabilities of individual transitions. Among the alkali metals, potassium atoms have the smallest magnitude of the hyperfine splitting of the lower level. This allows one to observe the break of the coupling between the electronic and nuclear angular momentums at comparatively low magnetic fields B > 500 G, i.e., to implement the hyperfine Paschen–Back regime (HPB). In the HPB regime, four equidistantly positioned transitions with the same amplitude are detected in circularly polarized light (σ⁺). In linearly polarized light (π) at the transverse orientation of the magnetic field, the spectrum consists of eight lines which are grouped in two groups each of which consists of four lines. Each group has a special distinguished G-transition and the transition that is forbidden in the zero magnetic field. In the HPB regime, the probabilities of transitions in a group and derivatives of their frequency shifts with respect to the magnetic field asymptotically tend to magnitudes that are typical for the aforesaid distinguished G-transition. Some practical applications for the used microcell are mentioned.     

Transverse spin relaxation in liquid 129Xe in the presence of large dipolar fields

Using spin-echo NMR techniques we study the transverse spin relaxation of hyperpolarized liquid 129Xe in a spherical cell. We observe an instability of the transverse magnetization due to dipolar fields produced by liquid 129Xe, and find that imperfections in the pi pulses of the spin-echo sequence suppress this instability. A simple perturbative model of this effect is in good agreement with the data. We obtain a transverse spin relaxation time of 1300 sec in liquid 129Xe, and discuss applications of hyperpolarized liquid 129Xe as a sensitive magnetic gradiometer and for a permanent electric dipole moment search.     

A modified analytical model of the alkali-metal atomic magnetometer employing longitudinal carrier field

Alkali-metal atomic magnetometers employing longitudinal carrier magnetic field have ultrahigh sensitivity to measure transverse magnetic fields and have been applied in a variety of precise-measurement science and technologies. In practice, the magnetometer response is not rigorously proportional to the measured transverse magnetic fields and the existing fundamental analytical model of this magnetometer is effective only when the amplitudes of the measured fields are very small. In this paper, we present a modified analytical model to characterize the practical performance of the magnetometer more definitely. We find out how the longitudinal magnetization of the alkali metal atoms vary with larger transverse fields. The linear-response capacity of the magnetometer is determined by these factors: the amplitude and frequency of the longitudinal carrier field, longitudinal and transverse spin relaxation time of the alkali spins and rotation frequency of the transverse fields. We give a detailed and rigorous theoretical derivation by using the perturbation-iteration method and simulation experiments are conducted to verify the validity and correctness of the proposed modified model. This model can be helpful for measuring larger fields more accurately and configuring a desirable magnetometer with proper linear range.     

Role of atomic transverse migration in growth of diamond-like carbon films

The growth of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The effect of impact angle on film structure is carefully studied, which shows that the transverse migration of the incident atoms is the main channel of film relaxation. A transverse-migration-induced film relaxation model is presented to elucidate the process of film relaxation which advances the original model of subplantation. The process of DLC film growth on a rough surface is also investigated, as well as the evolution of microstructure and surface morphology of the film. A preferential-to-homogeneous growth mode and a smoothing of the film are observed, which are due to the transverse migration of the incident atoms.     

Polarization and transverse-mode dynamics of gain-guided vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Transverse-mode competition and polarization selection in gain-guided vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers are studied by use of a transverse continuous model that incorporates basic physical mechanisms of polarization dynamics. Polarization stability and polarization switching within the fundamental Gaussian mode are described. The first-order transverse mode always starts lasing orthogonally polarized to the fundamental one. At larger currents polarization coexists with several active transverse modes. These results are shown to be sensitive to the carrier spin-flip relaxation rate.     

Relaxation of hyperpolarized 129Xe in a deflating polymer bag

In magnetic resonance imaging with hyperpolarized (HP) noble gases, data is often acquired during prolonged gas delivery from a storage reservoir. However, little is known about the extent to which relaxation within the reservoir will limit the useful acquisition time. For quantitative characterization, 129Xe relaxation was studied in a bag made of polyvinyl fluoride (Tedlar). Particular emphasis was on wall relaxation, as this mechanism is expected to dominate. The HP 129Xe magnetization dynamics in the deflating bag were accurately described by a model assuming dissolution of Xe in the polymer matrix and dipolar relaxation with neighboring nuclear spins. In particular, the wall relaxation rate changed linearly with the surface-to-volume ratio and exhibited a relaxivity of κ=0.392±0.008 cm/h, which is in reasonable agreement with κ=0.331±0.051 cm/h measured in a static Tedlar bag. Estimates for the bulk gas-phase 129Xe relaxation yielded T1bulk=2.55±0.22 h, which is dominated by intrinsic Xe-Xe relaxation, with small additional contributions from magnetic field inhomogeneities and oxygen-induced relaxation. Calculations based on these findings indicate that relaxation may limit HP 129Xe experiments when slow gas delivery rates are employed as, for example, in mouse imaging or vascular infusion experiments.     

Relaxation Behavior of Laser-Polarized Xe Gas: Size Dependency and Wall Effect of the T1 Relaxation Time in Glass and Gelatin Bulbs

Size dependency of the relaxation time T₁ was measured for laser-polarized ¹²⁹Xe gas encapsulated in different sized cavities made by glass bulbs or gelatin capsules. The use of laser-polarized gas enhances the sensitivity a great deal, making it possible to measure the longer ¹²⁹Xe relaxation time in quite a short time. The size dependency is analyzed on the basis of the kinetic theory of gases and a relationship is derived in which the relaxation rate is connected with the square inverse of the diameter of the cavity. Such an analysis provides a novel parameter which denotes the wall effect on the relaxation rate when a gas molecule collides with the surface once in a second. The relaxation time of ¹²⁹Xe gas is also dependent on the material which forms the cavity. This dependency is large and the relaxation study using polarized ¹²⁹Xe gas is expected to offer important information about the state of the matter of the cavity wall.     

Optimization of a magnetic-resonance signal under conditions of an unresolved radiofrequency spectrum of alkali atoms

The conditions for optimization of the regimes of optical pumping in optically oriented alkali atoms under total overlap of the components of low-frequency Zeeman and multiphoton shf resonances in the ground state are considered. The difference in the contribution of the light of pumping by the D₁ line to the rates of longitudinal and transverse relaxation is shown in terms of a two-level model of rubidium and cesium atoms, and values of the optimum pumping rate corresponding to the maximum of the quality factor of the recorded signal have been calculated. Experimental estimation of the relaxation rates was made by the signal of low-frequency Zeeman resonance in optically oriented rubidium and cesium atoms under conditions of homogeneous and inhomogeneous magnetic fields. It is shown that in pumping by the D₁ line from a lamp source and with balance of the dark times of the longitudinal and transverse relaxation the optimum pumping rate differs significantly from its values known from the literature. St. Petersburg State Technical University, 29, Politekhnicheskaya St., St. Petersburg, 195251, Russia. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 71–75, January–February, 1997.