Optically pumped rubidium atomic magnetometer with elliptically polarized light

Optically pumped rubidium atomic magnetometer with elliptically polarized light is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. Compared with the conventional optical absorption detection mode, the sensitivity of atomic magnetometer for this detection mode can be improved by an order of magnitude under our experimental condition. Some parameters that influence the performance of this magnetometer is studied, which are the form of elliptically polarized light, the amplitude of exciting magnetic field, and the laser intensity. The sensitivity of 2.5 pT/√Hz is obtained when these parameters are optimized.