APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR RECOVERY OF THREE DIMENSIONAL MAGNETIC FIELD FROM A MAGNETIC DETECTION SYSTEM

• US 20160223621A1
• Filed: 01/21/2016
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaup, Peter G., Manickam, Arul
• Granted Patent: US 9,541,610 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/032 using magneto-optic devices, e.g. Faraday or Cotton-Mouton effect

Abstract

A system for magnetic detection of an external magnetic field is disclosed. The system includes a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, a magnetic field generator that generates a magnetic field, a radio frequency (RF) excitation source that provides RF excitation, an optical excitation source that provides optical excitation, an optical detector that receives an optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material, and a controller. The controller is configured to calculate a control magnetic field, control the magnetic field generator to generate the control magnetic field, receive a light detection signal from the optical detector based on the optical signal due to the sum of the generated control magnetic field and the external magnetic field, store measurement data based on the received light detection signal, and calculate a vector of the external magnetic field based on the stored measurement data.

Claims

1. A system for magnetic detection of an external magnetic field, comprising:

a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers;

a magnetic field generator configured to generate a magnetic field;

a radio frequency (RF) excitation source configured to provide RF excitation to the NV diamond material;

an optical excitation source configured to provide optical excitation to the NV diamond material;

an optical detector configured to receive an optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material, the optical signal being a fluorescence intensity having a plurality of reduced responses across a frequency range of the RF excitation; and

a controller configured to;

calculate a control magnetic field that separates the plurality of reduced responses in the optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material;

control the magnetic field generator to generate the control magnetic field;

receive a light detection signal from the optical detector based on the optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material due to the sum of the generated control magnetic field and the external magnetic field;

store measurement data based on the received light detection signal; and

calculate a vector of the external magnetic field based on the stored measurement data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller calculates a control magnetic field that equally separates the plurality of reduced responses.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller calculates a control magnetic field that maximally separates the plurality of reduced responses.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to calculate an orientation of the NV diamond material.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the orientation of the NV diamond material based on a rotation and/or reflection of a standard orientation of the NV diamond material.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to assign a plurality of sign values to the measurement data such that a sum of the measurement data approaches zero.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to assign a positive sign value to the largest and smallest measurement data, and a negative sign value to the second-largest and third-largest measurement data.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to assign a positive sign value to the largest measurement data, and a negative sign value to the second-largest, third-largest, and smallest measurement data.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a pivot assembly, wherein the magnetic field generator is affixed to the pivot assembly, the pivot assembly is configured to position the magnetic field generator to a predetermined orientation such that the magnetic field generator generates the calculated control magnetic field, and the controller is further configured to control the pivot assembly.

10. A system for magnetic detection of an external magnetic field, comprising:

a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers;

a radio frequency (RF) excitation source configured to provide RF excitation to the NV diamond material;

an optical excitation source configured to provide optical excitation to the NV diamond material;

an optical detector configured to receive an optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material, the optical signal being a fluorescence intensity having a plurality of reduced responses across a frequency range of the RF excitation;

a magnetic field generator configured to generate a control magnetic field, the control magnetic field being configured to separate the plurality of reduced responses in the optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material; and

a controller configured to;

receive a light detection signal from the optical detector based on the optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material due to the sum of the control magnetic field and the external magnetic field;

store measurement data based on the received light detection signal; and

calculate a vector of the external magnetic field based on the stored measurement data.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the control magnetic field is configured to equally separate the plurality of reduced responses.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the control magnetic field is configured to maximally separate the plurality of reduced responses.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to calculate an orientation of the NV diamond material.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the orientation of the NV diamond material based on a rotation and/or reflection of a standard orientation of the NV diamond material.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the magnetic field generator is a permanent magnet.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a pivot assembly, wherein the magnetic field generator is affixed to the pivot assembly, the pivot assembly is configured to position the magnetic field generator to a predetermined orientation such that the magnetic field generator generates the control magnetic field, and the controller is further configured to control the pivot assembly.

17. A system for magnetic detection of an external magnetic field, comprising:

a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers;

a radio frequency (RF) excitation source configured to provide RF excitation to the NV diamond material;

an optical excitation source configured to provide optical excitation to the NV diamond material;

an optical detector configured to receive an optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material, the optical signal being a fluorescence intensity having a plurality of reduced responses across a frequency range of the RF excitation;

a magnetic field generator affixed to a pivot assembly, the pivot assembly being configured to position the magnetic field generator to a predetermined orientation such that the magnetic field generator generates a control magnetic field that separates the plurality of reduced responses in the optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material; and

a controller configured to;

control the pivot assembly to position the magnetic field generator to the predetermined orientation to generate the control magnetic field;

receive a light detection signal from the optical detector based on the optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material due to the sum of the control magnetic field and the external magnetic field;

store measurement data based on the received light detection signal; and

calculate a vector of the external magnetic field based on the stored measurement data.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the control magnetic field is configured to equally separate the plurality of reduced responses.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the control magnetic field is configured to maximally separate the plurality of reduced responses.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the controller is configured to calculate an orientation of the NV diamond material based on a rotation and/or reflection of a standard orientation of the NV diamond material.