Magnetic induction tomography using an all-optical 87^{87}Rb atomic magnetometer

We demonstrate Magnetic Induction Tomography (MIT) with an all-optical atomic magnetometer. Our instrument creates a conductivity map of conductive objects. Both shape and size of the imaged samples compare very well with the actual shape and size. Given the potential of all-optical atomic magnetometers for miniaturization and extreme sensitivity, the proof-of-principle presented here opens up promising avenues in the development of instrumentation for magnetic induction tomography.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Minor modifications, typos amended, references to f_ac and f_dc inserted in Fig.

Light shift averaging in paraffin-coated alkali vapor cells

Light shifts are an important source of noise and systematics in optically pumped magnetometers. We demonstrate that the long spin coherence time in paraffin-coated cells leads to spatial averaging of the light shifts over the entire cell volume. This renders the averaged light shift independent, under certain approximations, of the light-intensity distribution within the sensor cell. These results and the underlying mechanism can be extended to other spatially varying phenomena in anti-relaxation-coated cells with long coherence times.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Microwave-free magnetometry with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

We use magnetic-field-dependent features in the photoluminescence of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers to measure magnetic fields without the use of microwaves. In particular, we present a magnetometer based on the level anti-crossing in the triplet ground state at 102.4 mT with a demonstrated noise floor of 6 nT/$\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$, limited by the intensity noise of the laser and the performance of the background-field power supply. The technique presented here can be useful in applications where the sensor is placed closed to conductive materials, e.g. magnetic induction tomography or magnetic field mapping, and in remote-sensing applications since principally no electrical access is needed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure