Self-Calibrating Vector Magnetometer

This SBIR Phase II proposal describes the design, fabrication and evaluation of a Self-Calibrating Vector Magnetometer (SVM) breadboard model. The SVM is an innovative high-accuracy instrument capable of making both scalar and vector component measurements of Earth and planetary magnetic fields. The SVM scalar mode employs Optically-Driven Spin Precession (OSP) magnetic resonance. An OSP single-cell locked digital oscillator magnetometer was demonstrated for the first time under the Phase I Project achieving 3 pT/root-Hz sensitivity. Laser pumping with optical fiber coupling permits miniaturization of the SVM sensor by reducing helium cell volume by a factor of 8 and placing the laser and IR detector in the Electronic Unit. High-accuracy SVM scalar measurements are used to calibrate the SVM vector measurements thereby eliminating both fluxgate vector magnetometers and the scalar magnetometers required to correct for fluxgate drifts and offsets. The feasibility of fabricating a breadboard model SVM in Phase II has been established under the Phase I Project. By providing scalar measurements with an accuracy better than 1.0 nT, scalar sensitivity of 3 pT/root-Hz, vector component sensitivity of 5 pT/root-Hz, and calibrated accuracy of 1 nT, the SVM offers a significant advance in space magnetometer state of the art.