Abstract
This paper describes the design and the development of a prefabricated magnetically-shielded-room (PMSR) of the hexagonal type for high sensitive measurement of neuro-magnetic fields such as magnetoencephalography (MEG) mainly using SQUIDs with first and/or second-order gradiometers. This PMSR consists of prefabricated plywood panels 1.2 m wide×2.4 m high×24 mm thick. It covers a floor area of about 9 m2. The panel is sandwiched by two layers of high-μ metal sheets 1 mm thick. The shielding factor at the center of PMSR against the external magnetic field is 20 to 40 dB in the range of DC to 120 Hz. Magnetic noise inside PMSR measured by a second-order gradiometer was less than hundreds fT above 0.5 Hz excepting 50 Hz. In this case, a second order gradiometer was able to eliminate the common mode magnetic noise of about 20 Hz, which was essentially observed by a magnetometer, caused by the vibration of PMSR. These results were discussed and compared with the calculations.
