Dynamic Response of a Light-Modulated Magnetometer to Time-Dependent Fields

The dynamic response of a Bell-and-Bloom magnetometer to a parallel (to the bias field) time-dependent field is studied by means of a model that goes beyond the commonly assumed quasi-static regime. The findings unveil features that are related to the parametric nature of the considered system. It is shown that for low-amplitude time-dependent fields, different operating conditions are possible and that, besides the commonly reported low-pass filter behavior, a band-pass response emerges. Moreover, we show that a larger amplitude of the time-dependent field makes the parametric nature of the system appear more clearly in the output signal. A harmonic analysis of the latter is numerically performed to highlight and characterize these emerging features.