Abstract
Recently tunable lasers have been developed which are suitable for use as pumping sources in optically pumped helium magnetometers. This advance in laser technology is leading to a new generation of improved laser-pumped resonance magnetometers for use in geophysical and space applications. The history of optically pumped resonance magnetometers in space exploration will be reviewed, in order to describe the anticipated benefits of laser pumping. Experiments will be described which have demonstrated signal strengths in laser-pumped helium magnetometers which are 45 times greater than those observed in the same sensor pumped with a conventional rf electrodeless discharge helium lamp. This was a collaborative effort with the Magnetics Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Professor L. D. Schearer’s group at the University of Missouri at Rolla. The impact of the laser pumping technique on sensitivity, accuracy, and versatility of space magnetometers will be discussed. Proposed laser-pumped magnetometers will be described including the vector helium magnetometer for interplanetary field measurement, the scalar helium magnetometer for earth orbital applications, and the vector/scalar hybrid magnetometer for planetary and cometary encounters. Recent developments in miniaturized turnable laser sources will be presented. This was supported by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA.
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