Abstract

We have experimentally investigated the potential of narrow coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances for precision magnetometry. CPT [1] can be observed in A systems where two ground states axe coupled to a common excited state by two near-resonant light fields On resonance, effective formation of long-lived ground state coherences which do not couple to the light fields leads to reduced absorption in the medium (”electromagnetically induced transparency”) and thus reduced fluoresconce intensity (”dark resonance”). Extremely narrow CPT resonances can be observed when the light fields have fixed phase and frequency difference and time-of-flight broadening is suppressed by the use of a buffer gas, making this type of system a promising candidate for precision applications.

© 2000 IEEE