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:2402.00718 · AVS Quantum Science

Investigation of fluorescence versus transmission readout for three-photon Rydberg excitation used in electrometry

Nikunjkumar Prajapati, Samuel Berweger, Andrew P. Rotunno, Alexandra B. Artusio‐Glimpse, Noah Schlossberger, Dangka Shylla, William J. Watterson, Matthew T. Simons, David La Mantia, Eric B. Norrgard, Stephen Eckel, Christopher L. Holloway

Published Jul 3, 2024• 17 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a three-photon based fluorescence readout method where the strength of the fluorescence scales with the strength of the radio-frequency field being applied. We compare this method to conventional three-photon electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA). Our demonstrated three-photon EIA/EIT sensitivity in the collinear three-photon Cesium system is the best reported to date at roughly 30 (same units). The fluorescence is nearly fourfold better in sensitivity compared to EIA/EIT readout.

DOI
10.1116/5.0201928

Related papers

Sensitivity comparison of two-photon vs three-photon Rydberg electrometry

Nikunjkumar Prajapati, Narayan Bhusal, Andrew P. Rotunno +7 more

We investigate the sensitivity of co-linear three-photon electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in 133Cs Rydberg atoms to radio frequency electric fields and compare against the conventional two-photon system. Specifically, we model the 4-level and 5-level atomic systems and compare how the transmission of the probe changes with different laser powers and RF field strengths. In this model, we define a sensitivity metric that relates to the current best experimental implementation and assumes photon shot noise limited detection. We find that the three-photon system boasts much narrower linewidths compared to the conventional two-photon EIT. These narrow line features, however, do not align with the regions of the best sensitivity. In addition to this, we calculate the expected sensitivity for the two-photon Rydberg sensor and find that the best achievable sensitivity is over an order of magnitude better than the current measured values of 5 μVm−1Hz−1/2. However, by accounting for additional noise sources in the experiment and the quantum efficiency of the photo-detectors, the values are in good agreement.

arXiv:2211.11848•Journal of Applied Physics•Jul 11, 2023•36 citations

Advancing Three-Photon-Excited Rydberg RF Sensing: Fluorescence Readout for Wide-Dynamic-Range Characterization and Spatial Resolution Beyond Transmission

Jianan Zhang, Yuqing Liu, Yimin Liu +7 more

We theoretically and experimentally investigated the fluorescence and transmission readouts of radio-frequency (RF) electrometry based on three-photon-excited Rydberg atoms. We developed a theoretical model for the fluorescence and transmission readout processes of a three-photon-excited Rydberg atom electrometer and performed a qualitative comparative analysis of fluorescence versus probe transmission readouts. Theoretical calculations revealed that while both fluorescence and probe transmission readouts can employ Autler-Townes (AT) splitting to measure strong RF fields, probe transmission readouts become ineffective in weak-field regimes, whereas fluorescence readouts remain sensitive to weak RF fields. Experimentally, we comprehensively characterize the fluorescence response across a wide range of RF field strengths: from the weak-field regime (exhibiting scaling of fluorescence peak amplitude with RF field strength), through the intermediate-field regime (where fluorescence spectral linewidth scales proportionally with RF field strength), to the strong-field regime (characterized by traditional A-T splitting). Furthermore, by adding a narrow slit in front of the photomultiplier tube (PMT) and scanning the slit together with the PMT along the light beam propagation, we exploit fluorescence's inherent spatial information to directly map the Rydberg excitation profile and local RF field strength. This overcomes the transmission readout's inherent limitation of providing only path-integrated signals along the probe beam, even by imaging the probe beam with a CCD camera. Our results establish fluorescence readouts as a superior technique for three-photon Rydberg electrometry, offering enhanced wide-range RF field sensing and direct spatial field mapping.

Sensors•Nov 25, 2025•2 citations

Sensitivity comparison of Rydberg atom-based radio frequency electric field detection: Ionization current versus optical readout

Dangka Shylla, Rajavardhan Talashila, Alexandra B. Artusio‐Glimpse +7 more

We investigate a technique for detecting radio frequency (RF) electric fields in a cesium (Cs) vapor cell at room temperature by collecting charges from ionized Rydberg atoms and compare its performance with the established method of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). By applying a known RF field, we measure the response from both the electrical (ionization current-based) and optical (EIT-based) readouts. The ionization current-based method yields a sensitivity of 22 μ V m−1 Hz−1/2, while the EIT-based method achieves 3.7 μ V m−1 Hz−1/2. The sensitivity of the ionization current-based method is limited by the 2.2 k Ω resistance between the collection electrodes, attributed to a thin Cs film on the inner surfaces of the vapor cell. Controlling or eliminating the Cs layer can significantly improve the sensitivity of this ionization approach.

arXiv:2509.15463•AVS Quantum Science•Jan 27, 2026•0 citations

Microwave field sensor based on cold cesium Rydberg three-photon electromagnetically induced spectroscopy

Yuan-Yuan 圆圆 Wu 吴, Yunhui He, Yue-Chun Jiao +1 more

Abstract We present the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectra of cold Rydberg four-level cascade atoms consisting of the 6S1/2 → 6P3/2 → 7S1/2 → 60P3/2 scheme. A coupling laser drives the Rydberg transition, a dressing laser couples two intermediate levels and a weak probe laser probes the EIT signal. We numerically solve the Bloch equations and investigate the dependence of the probe transmission rate signal on the coupling and dressing lasers. We find that the probe transmission rate can display an EIT or electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) profile, depending on the Rabi frequencies of the coupling and dressing lasers. When we increase the Rabi frequency of the coupling laser and keep the Rabi frequency of the probe and dressing laser fixed, flipping of the EIA to EIT spectrum occurs at the critical coupling Rabi frequency. When we apply a microwave field coupling the transition 60P3/2 → 61S1/2, the EIT spectrum shows Autler–Townes splitting, which is employed to measure the microwave field. The theoretical measurement sensitivity can be 1.52 × 10−2 nV⋅cm−1⋅Hz−1/2 at the EIA–EIT flipping point.

Chinese Physics B•Aug 30, 2024•3 citations

Enhancement of electromagnetically induced transparency based Rydberg-atom electrometry through population repumping

Nikunjkumar Prajapati, Amy K. Robinson, Samuel Berweger +3 more

We demonstrate improved sensitivity of Rydberg electrometry based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with a ground state repumping laser. Though there are many factors that limit the sensitivity of radio frequency field measurements, we show that repumping can enhance the interaction strength while avoiding additional Doppler or power broadening. Through this method, we nearly double the EIT amplitude without an increase in the width of the peak. A similar increase in amplitude without the repumping field is not possible through simple optimization. We also establish that one of the key limits to detection is the photon shot noise of the probe laser. We show an improvement on the sensitivity of the device by a factor of nearly 2 in the presence of the repump field.

arXiv:2108.13226•Applied Physics Letters•Nov 22, 2021•93 citations

Three-photon Rydberg atom electrometry with enhanced sensitivity

Vijin Venu, Stephanie M. Bohaichuk, Florian Christaller +3 more

In this work, we present a high-sensitivity, all-optical, atom-based radio-frequency electrometry technique, implemented via a collinear three-photon excitation scheme in a room-temperature cesium vapor cell. By employing a wave-vector matching condition unique to cesium, our approach reduces the residual Doppler broadening so that it does not dominate the electromagnetically induced absorption linewidth, achieving linewidths below 200 kHz. The narrow linewidth enables the expansion of the self-calibrated Autler-Townes sensing regime and increased sensitivity when compared to methods where Doppler broadening dominates the linewidth. In this paper, we report our latest sensitivity measurements which successfully detected radio-frequency (RF) Rabi frequencies of 2π×43 kHz using a 480 kHz measurement bandwidth at 10.7 GHz, corresponding to a sensitivity of 45 nV/cm/ √ Hz. The results of our experiment show a thirteen-fold improvement compared to our previously reported findings for all-optical atom-based electrometry. Our measurements demonstrate the ability to detect time-varying signals suitable for radar and communication applications with high sensitivity.

Optical and Quantum Sensing and Precision Metrology II•Mar 19, 2025•0 citations
We present a three-photon based fluorescence readout method where the strength of the fluorescence scales with the strength of the radio-frequency field being applied. We compare this method to conventional three-photon electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA). Our demonstrated three-photon EIA/EIT sensitivity in the collinear three-photon Cesium system is the best reported to date at roughly 30 (same units). The fluorescence is nearly fourfold better in sensitivity compared to EIA/EIT readout.
We investigate the sensitivity of co-linear three-photon electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in 133Cs Rydberg atoms to radio frequency electric fields and compare against the conventional two-photon system. Specifically, we model the 4-level and 5-level atomic systems and compare how the transmission of the probe changes with different laser powers and RF field strengths. In this model, we define a sensitivity metric that relates to the current best experimental implementation and assumes photon shot noise limited detection. We find that the three-photon system boasts much narrower linewidths compared to the conventional two-photon EIT. These narrow line features, however, do not align with the regions of the best sensitivity. In addition to this, we calculate the expected sensitivity for the two-photon Rydberg sensor and find that the best achievable sensitivity is over an order of magnitude better than the current measured values of 5 μVm−1Hz−1/2. However, by accounting for additional noise sources in the experiment and the quantum efficiency of the photo-detectors, the values are in good agreement.
We theoretically and experimentally investigated the fluorescence and transmission readouts of radio-frequency (RF) electrometry based on three-photon-excited Rydberg atoms. We developed a theoretical model for the fluorescence and transmission readout processes of a three-photon-excited Rydberg atom electrometer and performed a qualitative comparative analysis of fluorescence versus probe transmission readouts. Theoretical calculations revealed that while both fluorescence and probe transmission readouts can employ Autler-Townes (AT) splitting to measure strong RF fields, probe transmission readouts become ineffective in weak-field regimes, whereas fluorescence readouts remain sensitive to weak RF fields. Experimentally, we comprehensively characterize the fluorescence response across a wide range of RF field strengths: from the weak-field regime (exhibiting scaling of fluorescence peak amplitude with RF field strength), through the intermediate-field regime (where fluorescence spectral linewidth scales proportionally with RF field strength), to the strong-field regime (characterized by traditional A-T splitting). Furthermore, by adding a narrow slit in front of the photomultiplier tube (PMT) and scanning the slit together with the PMT along the light beam propagation, we exploit fluorescence's inherent spatial information to directly map the Rydberg excitation profile and local RF field strength. This overcomes the transmission readout's inherent limitation of providing only path-integrated signals along the probe beam, even by imaging the probe beam with a CCD camera. Our results establish fluorescence readouts as a superior technique for three-photon Rydberg electrometry, offering enhanced wide-range RF field sensing and direct spatial field mapping.
We investigate a technique for detecting radio frequency (RF) electric fields in a cesium (Cs) vapor cell at room temperature by collecting charges from ionized Rydberg atoms and compare its performance with the established method of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). By applying a known RF field, we measure the response from both the electrical (ionization current-based) and optical (EIT-based) readouts. The ionization current-based method yields a sensitivity of 22 μ V m−1 Hz−1/2, while the EIT-based method achieves 3.7 μ V m−1 Hz−1/2. The sensitivity of the ionization current-based method is limited by the 2.2 k Ω resistance between the collection electrodes, attributed to a thin Cs film on the inner surfaces of the vapor cell. Controlling or eliminating the Cs layer can significantly improve the sensitivity of this ionization approach.
Abstract We present the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectra of cold Rydberg four-level cascade atoms consisting of the 6S1/2 → 6P3/2 → 7S1/2 → 60P3/2 scheme. A coupling laser drives the Rydberg transition, a dressing laser couples two intermediate levels and a weak probe laser probes the EIT signal. We numerically solve the Bloch equations and investigate the dependence of the probe transmission rate signal on the coupling and dressing lasers. We find that the probe transmission rate can display an EIT or electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) profile, depending on the Rabi frequencies of the coupling and dressing lasers. When we increase the Rabi frequency of the coupling laser and keep the Rabi frequency of the probe and dressing laser fixed, flipping of the EIA to EIT spectrum occurs at the critical coupling Rabi frequency. When we apply a microwave field coupling the transition 60P3/2 → 61S1/2, the EIT spectrum shows Autler–Townes splitting, which is employed to measure the microwave field. The theoretical measurement sensitivity can be 1.52 × 10−2 nV⋅cm−1⋅Hz−1/2 at the EIA–EIT flipping point.
We demonstrate improved sensitivity of Rydberg electrometry based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with a ground state repumping laser. Though there are many factors that limit the sensitivity of radio frequency field measurements, we show that repumping can enhance the interaction strength while avoiding additional Doppler or power broadening. Through this method, we nearly double the EIT amplitude without an increase in the width of the peak. A similar increase in amplitude without the repumping field is not possible through simple optimization. We also establish that one of the key limits to detection is the photon shot noise of the probe laser. We show an improvement on the sensitivity of the device by a factor of nearly 2 in the presence of the repump field.
In this work, we present a high-sensitivity, all-optical, atom-based radio-frequency electrometry technique, implemented via a collinear three-photon excitation scheme in a room-temperature cesium vapor cell. By employing a wave-vector matching condition unique to cesium, our approach reduces the residual Doppler broadening so that it does not dominate the electromagnetically induced absorption linewidth, achieving linewidths below 200 kHz. The narrow linewidth enables the expansion of the self-calibrated Autler-Townes sensing regime and increased sensitivity when compared to methods where Doppler broadening dominates the linewidth. In this paper, we report our latest sensitivity measurements which successfully detected radio-frequency (RF) Rabi frequencies of 2π×43 kHz using a 480 kHz measurement bandwidth at 10.7 GHz, corresponding to a sensitivity of 45 nV/cm/ √ Hz. The results of our experiment show a thirteen-fold improvement compared to our previously reported findings for all-optical atom-based electrometry. Our measurements demonstrate the ability to detect time-varying signals suitable for radar and communication applications with high sensitivity.