Journal of Applied Physics, 15 November 2008
J. Appl. Phys. 104, 103116 (2008) (7 pages)
©2008 American Institute of Physics. All rights reserved.

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Testing the effect of surface coatings onalkali atom polarization lifetimes

S. J. Seltzer,¹ D. M. Rampulla,² S. Rivillon-Amy,³ Y. J. Chabal,³S. L. Bernasek,² ^*and M. V. Romalis¹

¹Department of Physics, Princeton University,Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
²Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton,New Jersey 08544, USA
³Laboratory for Surface Modification, Rutgers University, Piscataway,New Jersey 08854, USA

(Received: 29 May 2008; accepted: 31 July 2008; published online: 24 November 2008)

Theevaluation of different surface coatings used in alkali metal atomicmagnetometers is necessary for the improvement of sensitivity of thesedevices. A method to measure the polarization lifetime of alkaliatoms in the region between substrates with different coatings wasdeveloped to determine the effectiveness of the coating at preservingalkali spin polarization as well as chemical compatibility and high-temperaturestability. Multiple coatings can be compared under identical experimental conditions,using an experimental geometry that allows surface characterization before andafter evaluation of the polarization lifetime. Multilayered, cross-linked octadecyltrichlorosilane films,alkyltrichlorosilane monolayers, and octadecylphosphonic acid monolayers were evaluated using thisapproach. ©2008 American Institute of Physics

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Testing the effect of surface coatings on alkali atom polarization lifetimes

S. J. Seltzer,1 D. M. Rampulla,2 S. Rivillon-Amy,3 Y. J. Chabal,3 S. L. Bernasek,2 *and M. V. Romalis1

1Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA2Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA3Laboratory for Surface Modification, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA

Contents

Testing the effect of surface coatings onalkali atom polarization lifetimes

S. J. Seltzer,¹ D. M. Rampulla,² S. Rivillon-Amy,³ Y. J. Chabal,³S. L. Bernasek,² ^*and M. V. Romalis¹

¹Department of Physics, Princeton University,Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
²Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton,New Jersey 08544, USA
³Laboratory for Surface Modification, Rutgers University, Piscataway,New Jersey 08854, USA