Self-Calibrating Vector Helium Magnetometer (SVHM), Phase II

This Phase 2 SBIR proposal describes the design, fabrication and calibration of a brass-board Self-Calibrating Vector Helium Magnetometer (SVHM). The SVHM instrument is capable of making high accuracy vector component measurements of Earth and planetary magnetic fields. The major SVHM innovation is use of scalar field measurements made with the SVHM sensor to self-calibrate the vector measurements thereby eliminating the standard suite of three fluxgate vector magnetometers and the independent scalar magnetometer required to correct for fluxgate drifts and offsets. The SVHM bread-board conceptual design can achieve a dynamic range of ¡Ó65,000 nT, both vector and scalar accuracy with self-calibration of ¡Ó1 nT, and sensitivity of <10 pT /%Hz. The SVHM bread-board will be miniaturized to meet volume, power and mass goals. The SVHM bread-board will utilize a fiber-coupled laser pump source and resonance drive, which permits reduction of helium cell volume by a factor of 10 and eliminates resonance drive coils and cables. The feasibility of designing a brass-board SVHM model using advanced laser and digital components was established in Phase 1. The SVHM bread-board will be calibrated and the self-calibration function demonstrated at a NASA coil facility during Phase 2.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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