Dynamic Field Nulling Method for Magnetically Shielded Room Based on Padé Approximation and Generalized Active Disturbance Rejection Control

Abstract

Magnetically shielded rooms (MSRs) provide a near-zero field environment for magnetoencephalography (MEG) research. Due to the high cost of high-permeability materials and the weak shielding capability against low-frequency magnetic disturbance, it is necessary to further design active compensation coils combined with a closed-loop control system to achieve dynamic nulling of environmental magnetic disturbance. To enhance the performance of the dynamic nulling system, this paper proposes a novel controller design method based on Padé approximation and generalized active disturbance rejection control (GADRC). First, a precise closed-loop model of the dynamic nulling system is established. On this basis, the delay element of the optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) is approximated using the Padé approximation method, and the controller is designed within the GADRC framework. The system’s stability and disturbance suppression capability are analyzed using frequency-domain methods. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, simulations and experiments are conducted, achieving a shielding factor greater than 40 dB at 0.1 Hz. After filtering out power frequency interference, the peak-to-peak field fluctuation is reduced from 320.3 pT to 1.8 pT.