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arXiv:2504.21144 · Physical Review Research

Electron beam characterization via quantum coherent electric field imaging

Rob Behary, Kevin Su, Nicolas DeStefano, Mykhailo Vorobiov, Todd D. Averett, A. Camsonne, Shukui Zhang, Charles Fancher, Neel Malvania, Eugeniy E. Mikhailov, S. Aubin, Irina V. Novikova

Published Oct 19, 2025• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We demonstrate an all-optical, minimally invasive electron beam ( e − beam ) characterization using Rydberg electrometry. An e -beam passes through a localized detector volume containing thermal Rb atoms that are optically excited in a quantum superposition of ground and Rydberg states. The e -beam's electric field perturbs atomic coherence and modifies resonance fluorescence in a narrow spectral region near the two-photon optical transition. Imaging Rb fluorescence provides a map of the electric field from the e -beam via Rydberg state Stark shifts and allows us to reconstruct the e -beam width, centroid position, and current. For an e -beam of 20 keV and electron currents of 20–40 µ A , we measured the centroid position with an accuracy of ≤ 8 µ m and width to within 100 µ m , limited by the experimental sensitivity of electric field reconstruction of ∼ 0.02 V/cm. This method is suitable for a wide range of electron energies and currents, and can be adopted for nuclear and high-energy experiments for minimally invasive real-time diagnostics and profiling of charged particle beams.

DOI
10.1103/sp9j-ps66

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We demonstrate an all-optical, minimally invasive electron beam ( e − beam ) characterization using Rydberg electrometry. An e -beam passes through a localized detector volume containing thermal Rb atoms that are optically excited in a quantum superposition of ground and Rydberg states. The e -beam's electric field perturbs atomic coherence and modifies resonance fluorescence in a narrow spectral region near the two-photon optical transition. Imaging Rb fluorescence provides a map of the electric field from the e -beam via Rydberg state Stark shifts and allows us to reconstruct the e -beam width, centroid position, and current. For an e -beam of 20 keV and electron currents of 20–40 µ A , we measured the centroid position with an accuracy of ≤ 8 µ m and width to within 100 µ m , limited by the experimental sensitivity of electric field reconstruction of ∼ 0.02 V/cm. This method is suitable for a wide range of electron energies and currents, and can be adopted for nuclear and high-energy experiments for minimally invasive real-time diagnostics and profiling of charged particle beams.
We present an all-optical detection approach to determine the position and spatial profile of an electron beam based on quantum properties of alkali metal atoms. To measure the electric field, produced by an electron beam, we excite thermal rubidium atoms to a highly excited Rydberg state via a two-photon ladder transition and detect Stark shifts of Rydberg states by monitoring frequencies of the corresponding electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) transmission peaks. We addressed several technical challenges in this approach. First, we use crossed laser beams to obtain spatial information about the electron beam position and geometry. Second, by pulsing the electron beam and using phase-sensitive optical detection, we separate the true electron beam electric signature from the parasitic electric fields due to photoelectric charges on the windows. Finally, we use a principle component analysis to further improve signal quality. We test this method to detect the current and to reconstruct a 2D profile of a 20 keV electron beam with currents ranging from 25 - 100 uA. While this technique provides less spatial resolution than fluorescence-based measurements, thanks to their speed and limited optical access requirements it can be useful for real-time non-invasive diagnostics of charged particle beams at accelerator facilities.
We present a quantum optics-based detection method for determining the position and current of an electron beam. As electrons pass through a dilute vapor of rubidium atoms, their magnetic field perturbs the atomic spin's quantum state and causes polarization rotation of a laser resonant with an optical transition of the atoms. By measuring the polarization rotation angle across the laser beam, we recreate a 2D projection of the magnetic field and use it to determine the e-beam position, size, and total current. We tested this method for an e-beam with currents ranging from 30 to 110 μA. Our approach is insensitive to electron kinetic energy, and we confirmed that experimentally between 10 and 20 keV. This technique offers a unique platform for noninvasive characterization of charged particle beams used in accelerators for particle and nuclear physics research.
We introduce an all-optical quantum-enhanced diagnostic for electric fields in low-temperature plasmas. Trace amounts of rubidium vapor, added to an argon plasma, allow us to employ spectrally narrow electric field-sensitive optical resonances via the quantum optical effect of Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency. This non-invasive technique enables measurements of electric fields in plasma with a 1~V/cm precision and a 1.5~V/cm lower detection limit. By collecting the fluorescence from the illuminated region of interest, we reconstruct a 2D spatial profile of the electric field magnitude with 56 μ56~μ56 μm resolution. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, we measured the changes in the electric field within the plasma sheath surrounding a biased Langmuir probe tip. This method holds significant potential for studying sheath structures in low-temperature plasmas.
Measurements of plasma electric fields are essential to the advancement of plasma science and applications. Performing non-invasive in situ measurements of plasma fields on sub-millimeter length scales with high sensitivity over a large range of field magnitude remains an outstanding challenge. We introduce and demonstrate a method for plasma electric field measurement that employs electromagnetically induced transparency as a high-resolution quantum-optical probe for the Stark energy level shifts of Rydberg atoms embedded in a plasma and serving as highly sensitive field sensors. The method is applied in diagnostics of plasmas generated by photo-excitation of a cesium vapor. The plasma electric fields are extracted from spatially resolved measurements of field-induced lineshape changes and shifts of Rydberg resonances in rubidium tracer atoms. Measurement capabilities over a range of plasma densities and temperatures are exploited to characterize plasmas in applied magnetic fields and to image electric-field distributions in cyclotron-heated plasmas. Our results pave the way toward further applications of Rydberg-atom-based field sensors to diagnostics and monitoring of electric fields due to plasmas.
Measurements of plasma electric fields are essential to the advancement of plasma science and applications. Methods for non-invasive in situ measurements of plasma fields on sub-millimeter length scales with high sensitivity over a large field range remain an outstanding challenge. Here, we introduce and demonstrate a new method for plasma electric field measurement that employs electromagnetically induced transparency as a high-resolution quantum-optical probe for the Stark energy level shifts of plasma-embedded Rydberg atoms, which serve as highly-sensitive field sensors with a large dynamic range. The method is applied in diagnostics of plasmas photo-excited out of a cesium vapor. The plasma electric fields are extracted from spatially-resolved measurements of field-induced shape changes and shifts of Rydberg resonances in rubidium tracer atoms. Measurement capabilities over a range of plasma densities and temperatures are exploited to characterize plasmas in applied magnetic fields and to image electric-field distributions in cyclotron-heated plasmas.
Imaging of electric and magnetic fields is limited by the fact that conventional field probes rely on conductive elements that perturb the fields they are meant to measure and require either spatial scanning or arrays to produce field maps. Atomic sensors based on Rydberg states offer a minimally invasive and broadband alternative, enabling absolute field measurements without external calibration. In this work, we present a field imaging technique that combines the spatial resolution of planar laser-induced fluorescence-dip spectroscopy with the field sensitivity and spectral resolution of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using Rydberg states of atomic vapor. By imaging the change in fluorescence due to EIT, we spatially resolve the field-induced shifts in atomic energy levels, enabling the imaging of arbitrary electric field distributions from MHz to tens of GHz at the ∼V/cm level and static magnetic fields at the ∼mT level. We also image resonant microwave electric fields at the ∼5 mV/cm level. This technique achieves a spatial resolution of 160 µm, limited by our camera, with a fundamental resolution limit near 5 µm.