Improving the Uniformity of the Residual Magnetic Field in the MSR Using Independent Coils Compensation Method

The Magnetoencephalography (MEG) based on atomic magnetometer has high demand for the uniformity in the measurement area. Due to the door and holes of the magnetically shielding room (MSR), the distribution of residual magnetic field is non-linear, introducing much trouble into the magnetic field compensation. This study proposes a method for improving the uniformity of the residual magnetic field in the compact MSR by injecting different currents into the two coils in each pair of the outside compensation coils. The model and theoretical analysis method have been established, the feasibility has been verified both by the simulation and the experimental test. Results show that the maximum of the three components of the residual magnetic field in the direction of the three axes can be reduced by 18 times, 10.6 times and 8.1 times, respectively, when compared with the results without compensation, and 2.4 times, 2.3 times and 2.2 times, respectively, when compared with the results compensated with the same current. This study can provide certain help for achieving ultra-weak magnetic environment with high uniformity for the MEG measurement. Note to Practitioners—In this article, we focus on the problem of compensating the residual magnetic field in the compact MSR with high efficiency and low cost, which remains the key factor that limits the promotion of the MEG. Method based on the compensation coils in series outside the MSR only deals with the linear or symmetric components, but has nothing to do with the non-linear and asymmetric one caused by the door. We propose a new method for compensating the residual magnetic field based on the coupling between the active and passive shielding, high compensation efficiency and uniformity can be achieved. In future work, we will aim at applying this method to create an ultra-weak magnetic field environment with high uniformity for the MEG measurement.