Multi-sensor magnetoencephalography with atomic magnetometers.

The authors have detected magnetic fields from the human brain with two independent, simultaneously operating rubidium spin-exchange-relaxation-free magnetometers. Evoked responses from auditory stimulation were recorded from multiple subjects with two multi-channel magnetometers located on opposite sides of the head. Signal processing techniques enabled by multi-channel measurements were used to improve signal quality. This is the first demonstration of multi-sensor atomic magnetometer magnetoencephalography and provides a framework for developing a non-cryogenic, whole-head magnetoencephalography array for source localization.

Low power high-performance radio frequency oscillator for driving ion traps.

We report a simple, efficient, high voltage radio frequency (RF) generator powered by a single voltage source (1.5-7 V) to resonantly drive ion traps or other capacitive loads. Our circuit is able to deliver RF voltages > 500 V(p-p) at frequencies ranging from 0.1 to 10 MHz. This RF oscillator uses low-cost, commercially available components, and can be easily assembled onto a circuit board of a few cm(2). Because of its simplicity and good efficiency, this circuit is useful in applications requiring small size and low power consumption such as portable ion trap systems where the duration of operation under battery power is of concern.

Compact phase delay technique for increasing the amplitude of coherent population trapping resonances in open Lambda systems.

We propose and demonstrate a novel technique for increasing the amplitude of coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances in open Lambda systems. The technique requires no complex modifications to the conventional CPT setup and is compatible with standard microfabrication processes. The improvement in the CPT resonance amplitude as a function of intensity of the excitation light agrees well with the theory based on ideal open and closed Lambda systems.

Atomic vapor cells for chip-scale atomic clocks with improved long-term frequency stability.

A novel technique for microfabricating alkali atom vapor cells is described in which alkali atoms are evaporated into a micromachined cell cavity through a glass nozzle. A cell of interior volume 1 mm3, containing 87Rb and a buffer gas, was made in this way and integrated into an atomic clock based on coherent population trapping. A fractional frequency instability of 6 x 10(-12) at 1000 s of integration was measured. The long-term drift of the F=1, mF=0-->F=2, mF=0 hyperfine frequency of atoms in these cells is below 5 x 10(-11)/day.

Waveguide atom beam splitter for laser-cooled neutral atoms.

A laser-cooled neutral-atom beam from a low-velocity intense source is split into two beams while it is guided by a magnetic-field potential. We generate our multimode beam-splitter potential with two current-carrying wires upon a glass substrate combined with an external transverse bias field. The atoms are guided around curves and a beam-splitter region within a 10-cm guide length. We achieve a maximum integrated flux of 1.5x10(5)atoms/s with a current density of 5x10(4)amp/cm (2) in the 100-microm -diameter wires. The initial beam can be split into two beams with a 50/50 splitting ratio.