Improvement of the spin polarization lifetime in the 85Rb vapor cell by octadecyltrichlorosilane coating

Effective surface coatings allow for long spin polarization in alkali metal cells, suppressing the magnetic field gradient effect and providing an improvement in atomic magnetometer sensitivity. In this work, the effect of an octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) surface coating on the longitudinal and transverse spin polarization lifetime of an optically pumped 85Rb vapor cell has been studied. Our results showed that the spin polarization lifetime significantly increased in the OTS lined cell compared to the unlined cell. The relaxation rate due to alkali metal atoms wall collisions and the magnetic field gradient has been decreased by using an OTS surface coating. A longer spin polarization lifetime in the lined cell causes a narrower magnetic resonance line width and subsequently a more sensitive atomic magnetometer.