A Miniature Wide Band Atomic Magnetometer
Abstract
Magnetometers and electromagnetic (EM) devices are two of the most commonly used instruments for searching for UXO. Research in this area has progressed from the problem of detecting possible UXO items to that of discriminating between hazardous and non-hazardous underground objects. Accurate identification of underground items requires that as much information as possible be gathered about the anomaly. This includes taking a dense array of magnetometer readings as well as EM readings. The magnetometer sensor of choice is typically an atomic vapor total field magnetometer. These devices have extremely high sensitivity and give readings that are independent of orientation. For EM systems, the sensor of choice has been a wire coil. A coil generates a voltage that is proportional to the time rate of change of the average magnetic field through the coil. An ideal sensor would combine the advantages of both types of measurement by making a magnetic field reading from DC to about 10 kHz covering the range of frequencies of both magnetometry and EM systems. In this project we investigated, designed, and prototyped small, wide bandwidth, extremely sensitive total field magnetic sensors. The sensing elements are approximately 20 mm3 in volume and have a noise level of below 10 pT/ Hz. The bandwidth of such devices exceeds 15 kHz, adequate for time or frequency domain electromagnetic (EM) measurements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA557364
Entities
People
- Mark Prouty