Deans, C;
Marmugi, L;
Renzoni, F;
(2017)
Through-barrier electromagnetic imaging with an atomic magnetometer.
Optics Express
, 25
(15)
pp. 17911-17917.
10.1364/OE.25.017911.
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Abstract
We demonstrate the penetration of thick metallic and ferromagnetic barriers for imaging of conductive targets underneath. Our system is based on an 85Rb radio-frequency atomic magnetometer operating in electromagnetic induction imaging modality in an unshielded environment. Detrimental effects, including unpredictable magnetic signatures from ferromag- netic screens and variations in the magnetic background, are automatically compensated by active compensation coils controlled by servo loops. We exploit the tunability and low-frequency sensitivity of the atomic magnetometer to directly image multiple conductive targets concealed by a 2.5 mm ferromagnetic steel shield and/or a 2.0 mm aluminium shield, in a single scan. The performance of the atomic magnetometer allows imaging without any prior knowledge of the barriers or the targets, and without the need of background subtraction. A dedicated edge detection algorithm allows automatic estimation of the targets’ size within 3.3 mm and of their position within 2.4 mm. Our results prove the feasibility of a compact, sensitive and automated sensing platform for imaging of concealed objects in a range of applications, from security screening to search and rescue.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Through-barrier electromagnetic imaging with an atomic magnetometer |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1364/OE.25.017911 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.1364/OE.25.017911 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Optical sensing and sensors, Imaging systems, Tomographic imaging, Atomic magnetometry, Quantum sensing |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1565350 |
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