Magnetoencephalography with a two-color pump-probe, fiber-coupled atomic magnetometer

摘要

The authors have detected magnetic fields from the human brain with a compact, fiber-couplednrubidium spin-exchange-relaxation-free magnetometer. Optical pumping is performed on the D1ntransition and Faraday rotation is measured on the D2 transition. The beams share an optical axis,nwith dichroic optics preparing beam polarizations appropriately. A sensitivity of u00025fT/u0004Hz isnachieved. Evoked responses resulting from median nerve and auditory stimulation were recordednwith the atomic magnetometer. Recordings were validated by comparison with those taken by ancommercial magnetoencephalography system. The design is amenable to arraying sensors aroundnthe head, providing a framework for noncryogenic, whole-head magnetoencephalography. © 2010nAmerican Institute of Physics. u0005doi:10.1063/1.3522648