Lucas Rushton

Lucas Rushton is a Higher Scientist in the Atomic Magnetometry team within the wider ACS group at NPL. He joined the group, led by W. Chalupczak, in April 2023 after completing his PhD at the University of Nottingham in January 2023. Lucas’ PhD focused on developing portable rf atomic magnetometers and using them for the remote sensing of metallic objects using magnetic induction measurements, resulting in several publications. Lucas did his Physics MSci at the University of Birmingham, graduating in 2019. 

Lucas’ work at NPL has focused on developing the two-photon rf atomic magnetometer, understanding the polarisation of rf fields in magnetic induction measurements, and working with the magnetometry team to develop a portable rf magnetometer with our industry partners. Lucas has also been developing machine learning algorithms to improve the operation of the sensor in unshielded conditions. 

Areas of interest 

• Working alongside industry partners to further develop high-sensitivity commercial atomic magnetometers, enabling their widespread adoption in industry 

• Reaching a stage when our sensor can be used for sophisticated field tests to demonstrate their superiority over other technologies, e.g., coils and fluxgates 

Key publications 

• Polarization of radio-frequency magnetic fields in magnetic induction measurements with an atomic magnetometer 
  L.M. Rushton, L.M. Ellis, J.D. Zipfel, P. Bevington, and W. Chalupczak 
  Phys. Rev. Applied 22, 014002 (2024) 

• Performance of a radio-frequency two-photon atomic magnetometer in different magnetic induction measurement geometries 
  L.M. Rushton, L.M. Ellis, J.D. Zipfel, P. Bevington, and W. Chalupczak 
  Sensors 24, 6657 (2024) 

• Unshielded portable optically pumped magnetometer for the remote detection of conductive objects using eddy current measurements 
  L.M. Rushton, T. Pyragius, A. Meraki, L. Elson, and K. Jensen 
  Rev. Sci. Instrum. 93, 125103 (2022) 

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