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Magnetometer for low cost, reliable & real-time measurements of magnetic fields

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Science & Technology
  • Published
    19th May, 2021

Researchers have demonstrated a low-cost digital system to efficiently measure unknown magnetic fields.

Context

Researchers have demonstrated a low-cost digital system to efficiently measure unknown magnetic fields.

About the newly developed magnetometer

Magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment.

  • Working of magnetometer: The magnetic matter creates digital signals which are analysed for the properties such as their time duration.
  • These signals are received through the hardware of digital receiver systems, which are built with standard silicon-based memory devices.

Digital signals

  • Digital signals are the backbone of communication systems processed by hardware systems.
  • They transmit and receive the signals with the help of intermediate systems called ‘digital receiver systems’ or DRS.
  • Computer codes are implemented for these devices to perform mathematical operations.
  • On the signal they receive, enabling DRS systems to measure fundamental properties of matter like ‘Spin’.

Spin of electrons

  • The spin of electrons determines the magnetism of most of the objects around us.
  • The electrons’ spin is not constant at room temperatures.
  • These spin fluctuations cause what scientists call ‘spin-noise’.
  • By measuring the tiny fluctuations in the magnetic field, the researchers can infer the spin-noise accurately. 

How the research was conducted?

  • Rubidium atoms were heated to temperatures ranging between 100 and 200 degrees Celsius, causing spin fluctuations.
  • They bombarded the atoms with a laser, which has a property called ‘polarization’.
  • The spin fluctuations caused the laser’s polarization to fluctuate, which the researchers measured using a light detector.
  • The polarization fluctuation is the signal for the digital receiver system.
  • They designed the system to work in two different modes.
  • One of them uses a widely-used mathematical function, the ‘Fourier transform’ of the signal, named after its inventor Joseph Fourier.
  • The Fourier transform of the signal lets them calculate how the rubidium atom’s energies vary, from which they can directly infer the magnetic field.
  • A standard method of measuring the magnetic field analyses small frequency ranges of the signal separately.
  • Significance of the new magnetometer: The researchers showed that the new method speeds up the calculations compared to the standard method.
    • Their improved method also increased their confidence in how the electrons’ energies vary more than ten times.
  • The study was supported by the Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Government of India.

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