ASM-1 Atomic Scalar Magnetometer
ASM-1 is a compact, robust, and low-cost pulsed-field magnetometer for accurate total-field measurements in low-earth orbit. Its low-outgassing materials and low power needs make it suitable for integration into small payloads alongside other instruments.
Performance
- Sensitivity: 20 pT/Hz1/2
- Heading error: 10 nT
- Accuracy: within 10 nT
- Linearity: within ±5 nT
- Total-field sample rate: 50 Hz
Ruggedness
- 1000 g shock and vibration (launch survival)
- radiation tolerance for LEO
ASM-1 is only designed for space applications. It is not suitable or protected for use on Earth. The exposed sensor and control board are not protected against electrostatic discharge. Use appropriate ESD precautions during handling and integration.
Hardware
ASM-1 has two components:
- A sensor module
- A control board
A flexible circuit connects the sensor to the control board.
Electrical interface
- Input power: 5–15 V
- Differential transmit and receive data
- Differential pulse-per-second (PPS) input
- 8-position Molex PicoBlade control-board connector
- Twinleaf Protocol over the serial interface
At startup, ASM-1 waits briefly for a PPS input so acquisition can begin synchronously. If no PPS is present, it starts asynchronously.
Data
ASM-1 provides two data streams:
fieldat 50 Hz — total magnetic field in nTauxat 1 Hz — system status, atomic signal, detector and laser telemetry, temperature, and oscillator timing
A status value of 255 indicates that all operating-status bits are set, including valid field data.
Software
Use the free, open-source Twinleaf software to monitor, configure, and log ASM-1 data. See Getting Started for installation and the complete device-to-data walkthrough.