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arXiv:2506.10541

Multi-Dressed-State Engineered Rydberg Electrometry

Yuhan Yan, Bowen Yang, Li, Xuejie, Haojie Zhao, B. X. Yu, Jianliao Deng, Chen, L. Q., Hua-Dong Cheng

Published Jun 12, 2025• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Rydberg atoms, with their giant transition electric dipole moments and abundant energy-level transitions, offer exceptional potential for microwave (MW) electric field sensing, combining high sensitivity and broad frequency coverage. However, simultaneously achieving high sensitivity and broad instantaneous bandwidth in a Rydberg-based MW sensor remains a critical challenge. Here, we propose a multi-dressed-state engineered superheterodyne detection scheme for Rydberg electrometry to overcome this challenge. It is found that the key to simultaneously achieving large instantaneous bandwidth and high sensitivity lies in the coherence of dressed states and the interference between transition channels of dressed states. By strategically engineering the multiple dressed states of Rydberg atoms, we demonstrate a thermal $\mathrm{^{87}Rb}$ vapor-based sensor with a sensitivity of 222.6$\,$nV$\,$cm$^{-1}\,$Hz$^{-1/2}$ and a record instantaneous bandwidth of 76.8$\,$MHz with the local microwave frequency 16.03$\,$GHz. This advancement paves the way for Rydberg-atom technologies in radar, wireless communication, and spectrum monitoring.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2506.10541

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Rydberg atoms, with their giant transition electric dipole moments and abundant energy-level transitions, offer exceptional potential for microwave (MW) electric field sensing, combining high sensitivity and broad frequency coverage. However, simultaneously achieving high sensitivity and broad instantaneous bandwidth in a Rydberg-based MW sensor remains a critical challenge. Here, we propose a multi-dressed-state engineered superheterodyne detection scheme for Rydberg electrometry to overcome this challenge. It is found that the key to simultaneously achieving large instantaneous bandwidth and high sensitivity lies in the coherence of dressed states and the interference between transition channels of dressed states. By strategically engineering the multiple dressed states of Rydberg atoms, we demonstrate a thermal 87Rb\mathrm{^{87}Rb}87Rb vapor-based sensor with a sensitivity of 222.6 \,nV \,cm−1 ^{-1}\,−1Hz−1/2^{-1/2}−1/2 and a record instantaneous bandwidth of 76.8 \,MHz with the local microwave frequency 16.03 \,GHz. This advancement paves the way for Rydberg-atom technologies in radar, wireless communication, and spectrum monitoring.
Achieving 100 \,MHz Instantaneous Bandwidth in a Broadband Rydberg Microwave Sensor
Rydberg atoms have attracted considerable attention in recent years as a novel platform for microwave sensing, owing to their unique physical merits: large transition dipole moments between Rydberg levels and broad frequency coverage. As a critical figure of merit for Rydberg microwave sensors, instantaneous bandwidth serves as a key benchmark for evaluating their viability in practical applications. Previous studies on instantaneous bandwidth remain limited to single-frequency operation, with typical demonstrated values of only tens of megahertz, a constraint that hampers the real-world deployment of this sensing technology. Here, we experimentally achieve an instantaneous bandwidth of over 100 \,MHz across a broad frequency range of 2.7-20 \,GHz and realize a sensitivity in the hundreds of nV \,cm−1 ^{-1}\,−1Hz−1/2^{-1/2}−1/2 range. The physical mechanism lies in the dressed-state coherence and the interference effect between different transition channels. Our work substantially broadens the instantaneous bandwidth of Rydberg microwave sensors and paves the way for their practical deployment in fields such as radar and wireless communications.
Broadband Rydberg Atomic Microwave Sensing with 44.6 \,MHz Instantaneous Bandwidth
Rydberg atoms have become a promising novel type of microwave sensor due to their excellent physical properties -- broad frequency coverage and large electric dipole moments. High sensitivity and broad instantaneous bandwidth are two indispensable requirements for deployable Rydberg microwave sensors. However, enabling broadband operation while retaining high sensitivity has been a longstanding barrier limiting their applications. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a Rydberg microwave sensor whose instantaneous bandwidth is significantly enhanced via an auxiliary microwave field. By finely modulating the Rydberg energy levels with this field, we broaden the bandwidth substantially while retaining the sensor's inherent high sensitivity. An instantaneous bandwidth of 44.6 \,MHz ($\pm22.322.322.3\,MHz)withasensitivityof225.7MHz) with a sensitivity of 225.7MHz)withasensitivityof225.7\,nVnVnV\,cmcmcm^{-1}\,HzHzHz^{-1/2}$ is realized in a thermal 87^{87}87Rb vapor with the local microwave frequency of 16.03 \,GHz. Our work delivers concurrent broad instantaneous bandwidth and high sensitivity for Rydberg microwave sensors, paving a technically viable path for their practical deployment in broadband microwave metrology, radar, and wireless communication.
Rydberg microwave (MW) sensors are superior to conventional antenna-based techniques because of their wide operating frequency range and outstanding potential sensitivity. Here, we demonstrate a Rydberg microwave receiver with a high sensitivity of 62 nVcm−1Hz−1/262\,\mathrm{nV} \mathrm{cm}^{-1} \mathrm{Hz}^{-1/2}62nVcm−1Hz−1/2 and broad instantaneous bandwidth of up to 10.2 MHz10.2\,\mathrm{MHz}10.2MHz. Such excellent performance was achieved by the amplification of one generated sideband wave induced by the strong coupling field in the six-wave mixing process of the Rydberg superheterodyne receiver, which was well predicted by our theory. Our system, which possesses a uniquely enhanced instantaneous bandwidth and high-sensitivity features that can be improved further, will promote the application of Rydberg microwave electrometry in radar and communication.
Rydberg microwave electrometry has attracted great attention, due to its potential application in radar and communication, but simultaneously achieving high sensitivity and broad instantaneous bandwidth remains a challenge. This study demonstrates an enhanced instantaneous bandwidth of \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}10.2 MHz with sensitivity of 62 nV cm${}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ Hz${}^{\ensuremath{-}1/2}$ by the amplification of one sideband wave in the six-wave-mixing process of a Rydberg superheterodyne receiver.
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.
We present a Rydberg atom-based microwave electric field sensor that achieves extended dynamic range and enhanced sensitivity across a broad bandwidth. By characterizing the Autler-Townes (AT) splitting induced by a single-tone microwave field, we demonstrate a spectroscopic method that simultaneously extracts both the microwave frequency and electric field strength directly from the splitting pattern. We implement dual-tone heterodyne detection, achieving a minimum detectable field strength on the order of uV/cm and a sensitivity in the sub-uV/cm/Hz^1/2 regime, while extending the operational bandwidth up to 3 GHz. Through systematic characterization of frequency and power dependencies, we identify optimal operating conditions to minimize power broadening in the resonant AT regime and maximize sensitivity in the far-off-resonance AC Stark regime. The resulting platform combines high sensitivity, broad bandwidth, and a dynamic range of approximately 90 dB, establishing Rydberg atoms as practical sensors for precision electric field metrology.