Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2111.06582

Sensitivity improvement of Rydberg atom-based microwave sensing via electromagnetically induced transparency

M. H. Cai, Zi-Shan Xu, Shuhang You, Huapeng Liu

Published Nov 12, 2021• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A highly excited Rydberg atom via electromagnetically induced transparency with two color cascading lasers has extreme sensitivity to electric fields of microwave ranging from 100 MHz to over 1 THz. It can be used as susceptible atom-based microwave communication antennas where the carrier wave usually works exactly resonant to the transition between a pair of adjacent Rydberg states with large electric dipole moment. A technique of superheterodyne with a strong on-resonant local microwave oscillator is employed to induce considerable Autler-Townes splitting where the antennas has a highest dynamic response to another weak target signal microwave carrier. To further improve the sensitivity of atomic antenna in communication, we detune the carrier microwave frequency off resonance forming an asymmetrically optical splitting and fix the coupling laser frequency at the shoulder of the stronger one, and optimize the local field strength simultaneously. It gives a sensitivity of 12.50(04) $\rm{nVcm^{-1}\cdot Hz^{-1/2}}$. Its enhancement mechanism of sensitivity is also proved by a theoretical simulation.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2111.06582

Related papers

Sensitivity Improvement and Determination of Rydberg Atom-Based Microwave Sensor

Minghao Cai, Zi-Shan Xu, Shuhang You +1 more

We present a theoretical and experimental investigation of the improvement and determination of the sensitivity of Rydberg atom-based microwave RF sensor. An optical Bloch equation has been set up based on the configuration that two-color cascading lasers exciting atom to highly Rydberg state and a microwave RF coupling this Rydberg state to its adjacent neighbor. The numerical simulation shows that the sensitivity of the atomic RF sensor is correlated with the amplitude strengths of the applied two lasers and the RF itself. It also depends on the frequency detuning of the coupling laser, which induces an asymmetrically optical splitting. The coupling laser frequency fixing at the shoulder of the stronger one is more favorable for a higher sensitivity. Accordingly, we perform an experimental demonstration for the optimization of all these parameters and the sensitivity is improved to 12.50(04) nVcm−1·Hz−1/2.

Photonics•Apr 10, 2022•75 citations

Extending bandwidth sensitivity of Rydberg-atom-based microwave electrometry using an auxiliary microwave field

Yue Cui, Feng-Dong Jia, Jianhai Hao +13 more

We demonstrate the use of an auxiliary microwave field to extend the bandwidth sensitivity of Rydberg-atom-based microwave electrometry. Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Autler-Townes (AT) splitting in Rydberg atom microwave electrometry provide advantageous sensitivity for the resonant detection of microwave (MW) fields because the Stark shift of the target Rydberg state takes the linear form of AT splitting. However, the sensitivity is reduced by several orders of magnitude for detuned MW fields because the Stark shift of the target Rydberg state depends on a weak nonlinear effect. We show that the auxiliary microwave field with appropriate Rabi frequency or detuning could shift the atomic energy levels to bring a particular Rydberg-Rydberg transition of interest for microwave sensing into resonance with the target microwave field. Using the atomic superheterodyne method, we verified the general method that regulates Rydberg energy levels using an auxiliary microwave field. The experimental results of this study confirm that this technique works efficiently for detecting microwave fields detuned by up to 100 MHz from resonance with the field-free Rydberg-Rydberg transition used for sensing. The measurement sensitivity of the detuned target field is increased by a factor of 10 compared with that achieved without the application of the auxiliary dressing field.

Physical Review A•Apr 3, 2023•47 citations

A Cs Rydberg Atomic Microwave Oscillator for Electric Field Sensing

He Wang, David Rosser, Michael J. Mazon +1 more

In this paper, we report an atomic oscillator in Ku band and its application for electric field (E-field) sensing with Cs Rydberg atoms in a room-temperature vapor cell. The oscillator is associated with the Cs Rydberg transition of 362D5/2– 372P3/2at 16.316 GHz which is generated with a two-laser double-resonance excitation. We characterized the energetics and the dipole moment of the Rydberg transition and used Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) and Autler-Townes (AT) effects for detecting continuous and amplitude/frequency modulated microwave E-fields. To enhance the oscillator’s response to weak signals, a superheterodyne technique was incorporated into the Rydberg oscillator system, which resulted in an improvement in the oscillator’s sensitivity by 100 times. Furthermore, our modeling shows that the Cs Rydberg atomic oscillator can be tuned to broad frequency ranges from MHz to THz for various RF applications.

Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)•May 15, 2023•1 citation

Microwave electric field sensing with Rydberg atoms

Daniel T. Stack, Paul D. Kunz, David H. Meyer +1 more

Atoms form the basis of precise measurement for many quantities (time, acceleration, rotation, magnetic field, etc.). Measurements of microwave frequency electric fields by traditional methods (i.e. engineered antennas) have limited sensitivity and can be difficult to calibrate properly. Highly-excited (Rydberg) neutral atoms have very large electric-dipole moments and many dipole allowed transitions in the range of 1 - 500 GHz. It is possible to sensitively probe the electric field in this range using the combination of two quantum interference phenomena: electromagnetically induced transparency and the Autler-Townes effect. This technique allows for very sensitive field amplitude, polarization, and sub-wavelength imaging measurements. These quantities can be extracted by measuring properties of a probe laser beam as it passes through a warm rubidium vapor cell. Thus far, Rydberg microwave electrometry has relied upon the absorption of the probe laser. We report on our use of polarization rotation, which corresponds to the real part of the susceptibility, for measuring the properties of microwave frequency electric fields. Our simulations show that when a magnetic field is present and directed along the optical propagation direction a polarization rotation signal exists and can be used for microwave electrometry. One central advantage in using the polarization rotation signal rather than the absorption signal is that common mode laser noise is naturally eliminated leading to a potentially dramatic increase in signal-to-noise ratio.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•May 19, 2016•3 citations

Enhanced sensing of 3.4 GHz microwave in multi-level Rydberg atomic system

Jingjing XUE, Ruonan LI, Hu Xuesong +3 more

The Rydberg-based microwave detection is an all-optical technology that uses the strong coherent interaction between Rydberg atoms and microwave field. Different from the traditional microwave meter, the Rydberg atomic sensing is a new-type microwave detector that transforms the microwave spectrum into a coherent optical spectrum, and arouses increasingly the interests due to its high sensibility. For this kind of sensor, the coherence effect induced by coupling atoms with microwave plays a key role, and the decoherence may reduce the sensitivity. A multi-level Rydberg atomic scheme with optimized quantum coherence, which enhances both the bandwidth and the sensitivity for 4 GHz microwave sensing, is demonstrated experimentally in this work. The enhanced quantum coherence of Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and microwave induced Autler-Townes (AT) splitting in EIT windows are shown using optical pumping at D1 line. The enhanced sensitivity at 3.4 GHz with 0.3 GHz bandwidth can be realized, based on the enhanced EIT-AT spectrum. The experimental results show that in the stepped Rydberg EIT system, the spectral width of EIT and microwave field EIT-AT can be narrowed by optical pumping (OP), so the sensitivity of microwave electric field measurement can be improved. After optimizing the EIT amplitude and adding single-frequency microwaves, the sensitivity of the microwave electric field measurement observed by the AT splitting interval is improved by 1.3 times. This work provides a reference for utilizing atomic microwave detection.

Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2025•1 citation

Enhanced sensing of 3.4 GHz microwave in multi-level Rydberg atomic system

Jingjing, Xue, Ruonan, Li, Hu Xuesong +3 more

The Rydberg-based microwave detection is an all-optical technology that uses the strong coherent interaction between Rydberg atoms and microwave field. Different from the traditional microwave meter, the Rydberg atomic sensing is a new-type microwave detector that transforms the microwave spectrum into a coherent optical spectrum, and arouses increasingly the interests due to its high sensibility. For this kind of sensor, the coherence effect induced by coupling atoms with microwave plays a key role, and the decoherence may reduce the sensitivity. A multi-level Rydberg atomic scheme with optimized quantum coherence, which enhances both the bandwidth and the sensitivity for 4 GHz microwave sensing, is demonstrated experimentally in this work. The enhanced quantum coherence of Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and microwave induced Autler-Townes (AT) splitting in EIT windows are shown using optical pumping at D1 line. The enhanced sensitivity at 3.4 GHz with 0.3 GHz bandwidth can be realized, based on the enhanced EIT-AT spectrum. The experimental results show that in the stepped Rydberg EIT system, the spectral width of EIT and microwave field EIT-AT can be narrowed by optical pumping (OP), so the sensitivity of microwave electric field measurement can be improved. After optimizing the EIT amplitude and adding single-frequency microwaves, the sensitivity of the microwave electric field measurement observed by the AT splitting interval is improved by 1.3 times. This work provides a reference for utilizing atomic microwave detection.

arXiv:2508.01260•Aug 2, 2025•0 citations
A highly excited Rydberg atom via electromagnetically induced transparency with two color cascading lasers has extreme sensitivity to electric fields of microwave ranging from 100 MHz to over 1 THz. It can be used as susceptible atom-based microwave communication antennas where the carrier wave usually works exactly resonant to the transition between a pair of adjacent Rydberg states with large electric dipole moment. A technique of superheterodyne with a strong on-resonant local microwave oscillator is employed to induce considerable Autler-Townes splitting where the antennas has a highest dynamic response to another weak target signal microwave carrier. To further improve the sensitivity of atomic antenna in communication, we detune the carrier microwave frequency off resonance forming an asymmetrically optical splitting and fix the coupling laser frequency at the shoulder of the stronger one, and optimize the local field strength simultaneously. It gives a sensitivity of 12.50(04) nVcm−1⋅Hz−1/2\rm{nVcm^{-1}\cdot Hz^{-1/2}}nVcm−1⋅Hz−1/2. Its enhancement mechanism of sensitivity is also proved by a theoretical simulation.
We present a theoretical and experimental investigation of the improvement and determination of the sensitivity of Rydberg atom-based microwave RF sensor. An optical Bloch equation has been set up based on the configuration that two-color cascading lasers exciting atom to highly Rydberg state and a microwave RF coupling this Rydberg state to its adjacent neighbor. The numerical simulation shows that the sensitivity of the atomic RF sensor is correlated with the amplitude strengths of the applied two lasers and the RF itself. It also depends on the frequency detuning of the coupling laser, which induces an asymmetrically optical splitting. The coupling laser frequency fixing at the shoulder of the stronger one is more favorable for a higher sensitivity. Accordingly, we perform an experimental demonstration for the optimization of all these parameters and the sensitivity is improved to 12.50(04) nVcm−1·Hz−1/2.
We demonstrate the use of an auxiliary microwave field to extend the bandwidth sensitivity of Rydberg-atom-based microwave electrometry. Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Autler-Townes (AT) splitting in Rydberg atom microwave electrometry provide advantageous sensitivity for the resonant detection of microwave (MW) fields because the Stark shift of the target Rydberg state takes the linear form of AT splitting. However, the sensitivity is reduced by several orders of magnitude for detuned MW fields because the Stark shift of the target Rydberg state depends on a weak nonlinear effect. We show that the auxiliary microwave field with appropriate Rabi frequency or detuning could shift the atomic energy levels to bring a particular Rydberg-Rydberg transition of interest for microwave sensing into resonance with the target microwave field. Using the atomic superheterodyne method, we verified the general method that regulates Rydberg energy levels using an auxiliary microwave field. The experimental results of this study confirm that this technique works efficiently for detecting microwave fields detuned by up to 100 MHz from resonance with the field-free Rydberg-Rydberg transition used for sensing. The measurement sensitivity of the detuned target field is increased by a factor of 10 compared with that achieved without the application of the auxiliary dressing field.
In this paper, we report an atomic oscillator in Ku band and its application for electric field (E-field) sensing with Cs Rydberg atoms in a room-temperature vapor cell. The oscillator is associated with the Cs Rydberg transition of 362D5/2– 372P3/2at 16.316 GHz which is generated with a two-laser double-resonance excitation. We characterized the energetics and the dipole moment of the Rydberg transition and used Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) and Autler-Townes (AT) effects for detecting continuous and amplitude/frequency modulated microwave E-fields. To enhance the oscillator’s response to weak signals, a superheterodyne technique was incorporated into the Rydberg oscillator system, which resulted in an improvement in the oscillator’s sensitivity by 100 times. Furthermore, our modeling shows that the Cs Rydberg atomic oscillator can be tuned to broad frequency ranges from MHz to THz for various RF applications.
Atoms form the basis of precise measurement for many quantities (time, acceleration, rotation, magnetic field, etc.). Measurements of microwave frequency electric fields by traditional methods (i.e. engineered antennas) have limited sensitivity and can be difficult to calibrate properly. Highly-excited (Rydberg) neutral atoms have very large electric-dipole moments and many dipole allowed transitions in the range of 1 - 500 GHz. It is possible to sensitively probe the electric field in this range using the combination of two quantum interference phenomena: electromagnetically induced transparency and the Autler-Townes effect. This technique allows for very sensitive field amplitude, polarization, and sub-wavelength imaging measurements. These quantities can be extracted by measuring properties of a probe laser beam as it passes through a warm rubidium vapor cell. Thus far, Rydberg microwave electrometry has relied upon the absorption of the probe laser. We report on our use of polarization rotation, which corresponds to the real part of the susceptibility, for measuring the properties of microwave frequency electric fields. Our simulations show that when a magnetic field is present and directed along the optical propagation direction a polarization rotation signal exists and can be used for microwave electrometry. One central advantage in using the polarization rotation signal rather than the absorption signal is that common mode laser noise is naturally eliminated leading to a potentially dramatic increase in signal-to-noise ratio.
The Rydberg-based microwave detection is an all-optical technology that uses the strong coherent interaction between Rydberg atoms and microwave field. Different from the traditional microwave meter, the Rydberg atomic sensing is a new-type microwave detector that transforms the microwave spectrum into a coherent optical spectrum, and arouses increasingly the interests due to its high sensibility. For this kind of sensor, the coherence effect induced by coupling atoms with microwave plays a key role, and the decoherence may reduce the sensitivity. A multi-level Rydberg atomic scheme with optimized quantum coherence, which enhances both the bandwidth and the sensitivity for 4 GHz microwave sensing, is demonstrated experimentally in this work. The enhanced quantum coherence of Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and microwave induced Autler-Townes (AT) splitting in EIT windows are shown using optical pumping at D1 line. The enhanced sensitivity at 3.4 GHz with 0.3 GHz bandwidth can be realized, based on the enhanced EIT-AT spectrum. The experimental results show that in the stepped Rydberg EIT system, the spectral width of EIT and microwave field EIT-AT can be narrowed by optical pumping (OP), so the sensitivity of microwave electric field measurement can be improved. After optimizing the EIT amplitude and adding single-frequency microwaves, the sensitivity of the microwave electric field measurement observed by the AT splitting interval is improved by 1.3 times. This work provides a reference for utilizing atomic microwave detection.
The Rydberg-based microwave detection is an all-optical technology that uses the strong coherent interaction between Rydberg atoms and microwave field. Different from the traditional microwave meter, the Rydberg atomic sensing is a new-type microwave detector that transforms the microwave spectrum into a coherent optical spectrum, and arouses increasingly the interests due to its high sensibility. For this kind of sensor, the coherence effect induced by coupling atoms with microwave plays a key role, and the decoherence may reduce the sensitivity. A multi-level Rydberg atomic scheme with optimized quantum coherence, which enhances both the bandwidth and the sensitivity for 4 GHz microwave sensing, is demonstrated experimentally in this work. The enhanced quantum coherence of Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and microwave induced Autler-Townes (AT) splitting in EIT windows are shown using optical pumping at D1 line. The enhanced sensitivity at 3.4 GHz with 0.3 GHz bandwidth can be realized, based on the enhanced EIT-AT spectrum. The experimental results show that in the stepped Rydberg EIT system, the spectral width of EIT and microwave field EIT-AT can be narrowed by optical pumping (OP), so the sensitivity of microwave electric field measurement can be improved. After optimizing the EIT amplitude and adding single-frequency microwaves, the sensitivity of the microwave electric field measurement observed by the AT splitting interval is improved by 1.3 times. This work provides a reference for utilizing atomic microwave detection.