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arXiv:2509.20632 · Physical Review A

Probing bandwidth and sensitivity in Rydberg atom sensing via optical homodyne and rf heterodyne detection

Dixith Manchaiah, Stone Oliver, Samuel Berweger, Christopher L. Holloway, Nikunjkumar Prajapati

Published Dec 22, 2025• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Rydberg atom based sensors allow for SI traceable measurements and show promise for applications in the field of communication and radar technologies. In this article, we investigate the bandwidth and sensitivity of a Rydberg atom-based sensor in a rubidium vapor cell using Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectroscopy. We employ a radio-frequency (RF) heterodyne measurement technique in combination with an optical homodyne setup to extend the achievable range between sensitivity and bandwidth in a Rydberg sensor. While the bandwidth of Rydberg sensors are limited by the transit time of atoms and the Rabi frequency of the coupling field, achieving higher bandwidth through smaller beam sizes is thought to compromise sensitivity due to reduced EIT signal strength. Using optical homodyne detection, we demonstrate that sensitivity is preserved while achieving a response bandwidth of 8 MHz. In addition, using the Rydberg sensor, we receive digital communication signals and present error vector magnitude (EVM) measurements as a function of varying symbol rates and bandwidth of the Rydberg sensor. Furthermore, the sensor's performance is compared with a conventional RF mixer. We establish that the bandwidth of a Rydberg sensor when receiving a pure tone is not the same as the bandwidth of the sensor when receiving a modulated signal. This difference results from the spreading of symbols in the frequency domain, leading to a reduction of the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and an accumulation of noise over the total span of the modulated signal.

DOI
10.1103/jsbl-45t9

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Rydberg atom based sensors allow for SI traceable measurements and show promise for applications in the field of communication and radar technologies. In this article, we investigate the bandwidth and sensitivity of a Rydberg atom-based sensor in a rubidium vapor cell using Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectroscopy. We employ a radio-frequency (RF) heterodyne measurement technique in combination with an optical homodyne setup to extend the achievable range between sensitivity and bandwidth in a Rydberg sensor. While the bandwidth of Rydberg sensors are limited by the transit time of atoms and the Rabi frequency of the coupling field, achieving higher bandwidth through smaller beam sizes is thought to compromise sensitivity due to reduced EIT signal strength. Using optical homodyne detection, we demonstrate that sensitivity is preserved while achieving a response bandwidth of 8 MHz. In addition, using the Rydberg sensor, we receive digital communication signals and present error vector magnitude (EVM) measurements as a function of varying symbol rates and bandwidth of the Rydberg sensor. Furthermore, the sensor's performance is compared with a conventional RF mixer. We establish that the bandwidth of a Rydberg sensor when receiving a pure tone is not the same as the bandwidth of the sensor when receiving a modulated signal. This difference results from the spreading of symbols in the frequency domain, leading to a reduction of the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and an accumulation of noise over the total span of the modulated signal.
Significant progress has been made in recent years demonstrating an all-optical high sensitivity Radio Frequency (RF) sensor exploiting the Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) effect in an atomic vapor. Rydberg RF sensors have previously been shown to exhibit excellent lab-based performance in measuring electric field properties. As a commercial network operator we wish to exploit these capabilities to produce a rugged high-sensitivity receiver for 5G signals, so we seek simple planning rules applicable to readily available low cost components. We present a simple analytic model for the operation of a sensitive Rydberg RF receiver to predict the optical modulation in response to an RF signal. We focus on maximizing the contrast in the optical response to a modulated RF signal rather than to a constant RF field. We show that the optical modulation depth can be maximized using an optimum coupling intensity. The optical modulation depth drops off rapidly as the RF source is detuned away from resonance. By detuning the coupling frequency to compensate for the RF detuning we demonstrate that the useful RF bandwidth of the receiver can be significantly extended. We measure this variation in optical response using a Rubidium vapor at a 15 GHz RF carrier frequency. Using readily available optical components we obtain good agreement with our model. This convenient analytic approach will simplify the design and operation of Rydberg RF receivers as sensitive components in future 5G mobile communications, particularly for the power-limited uplink from mobile device to base-station.
Up to now, the measurement of radio-frequency (RF) electric field achieved using the electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) of Rydberg atoms has proved to be of high-sensitivity and shows a potential to produce a promising atomic RF receiver at resonance between two chosen Rydberg states. In this paper, we study the extension of the feasibility of digital communication via this quantum-based antenna over a continuously tunable RF-carrier at off-resonance. Our experiment shows that the digital communication at a rate of 500 kbps can be performed reliably within a tunable bandwidth of 200 MHz near a 10.22 GHz carrier. Outside of this range, the bit error rate (BER) increases, rising to, for example, 15% at an RF-detuning of ±150 MHz. In the measurement, the time-varying RF field is retrieved by detecting the optical power of the probe laser at the center frequency of RF-induced symmetric or asymmetric Autler-Townes splitting in EIT. Prior to the digital test, we studied the RF-reception quality as a function of various parameters including the RF detuning and found that a choice of linear gain response to the RF-amplitude can suppress the signal distortion. The modulating signal can be decoded at speeds up to 500 kHz in the tunable bandwidth. Our test consolidates the physical basis for reliable communication and spectral sensing over a wider broadband RF-carrier, which paves a way for the concurrent multi-channel communications founded on the same pair of Rydberg states.
We present experimental results demonstrating broadband reception of a noise-like spread-spectrum waveform using a Rydberg atom-based quantum radio frequency (RF) receiver. The transmitted waveform occupies a 20 MHz bandwidth around a 2.5 GHz carrier and is intentionally engineered to exhibit noise-like spectral characteristics. To enable recovery of this broadband signal, the Rydberg sensor was configured to achieve sufficiently uniform sensitivity across intermediate frequencies up to 10 MHz (corresponding to a ±10 MHz signal band about the carrier, i.e., 20 MHz total bandwidth). Under these conditions, we demonstrate successful detection and recovery of noise-like spread-spectrum waveforms spanning a 20 MHz bandwidth. These results validate the feasibility of using atomic sensors for broadband RF waveform reception and highlight their potential in photonics-enabled RF sensing applications.
Rydberg atoms have great potential in electric field measurement and have an advantage with a large frequency bandwidth from the kHz to the THz scale. However, the sensitivity for measuring a weak MHz electric field signal is limited by the spectroscopic resolution, because the weak electric field induces only a small perturbation of the population and energy-level shift of the Rydberg atoms. Here, we report highly sensitive measurement of a weak MHz electric field using electromagnetically induced transparency with Rydberg atoms in a thermal atomic system. Using the heterodyne method on a 30-MHz electric field, we successfully measure the minimum electric field strength to be $37.3\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{V}/\mathrm{cm}$ with a sensitivity up to $\ensuremath{-}65$ dBm/Hz and a linear dynamic range over 65 dB. Additionally, we measure an amplitude-modulated signal and demodulate the signal with a fidelity over 98%. This work extends the sensitivity of atomic sensors for measuring MHz electric fields, which advances atomic electric field-sensing technology.
We report on the development of detection methods for amplitude and phase of pulsed radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields with Rydberg atoms. We begin with an overview of the basic principles of Rydberg-atom-based sensing and measurement of RF electromagnetic fields. An overview of the underlying atomic physics and the method for amplitude as well as phase sensing of electromagnetic radiation with Rydberg atoms is provided. Atomic RF receivers using Rydberg atoms for analog and digital communications and sensing of modulated RF fields are discussed. Detection of pulse-modulated RF and time-domain RF pulse waveform imaging with a Rydberg-atom receiver are demonstrated. The transient response of the Rydberg-atom vapor to a modulated RF field is observed at the 10-nanosecond level, from which a new lower limit to the achievable instantaneous signal bandwidth of atomic RF receivers is established. Finally, we present and describe a new method to measure the phase of an RF field implemented to not require an RF reference wave. The method employs phase-coherent excitation pathways involving the optical fields in the atomic sensing medium with the signal RF field. The optical RF phase-sensing approach lends itself to the realization of atomic RF sensors, measurement and imaging devices that are relevant to applications in RF communications and sensing.
Quantum sensing using Rydberg atoms offers unprecedented opportunities for next-generation radar systems, transcending classical limitations in miniaturization and spectral agility. This work proposes a quantum-enhanced radar reception architecture that replaces conventional antenna-tomixer chains with a centimeter-scale vapor cell as a quantum radio frequency (RF) field sensor and mixer, enabling this paradigm for radar sensing. This approach is based on electromagnetically induced transparency, which uses Autler-Townes splitting to enable direct RF-to-optical downconversion within the atomic medium via an external co-frequency reference. To circumvent the range-resolution limitation imposed by the narrow instantaneous response of the atomic receiver, we adopt a stepped-frequency synthesis strategy involving the hybrid manipulation of Rydberg energy states. This strategy combines coarse laser frequency tuning with fine AC-Stark shift compensation. Additionally, we establish a nonlinear response model of the Rydberg atomic homodyne receiver and propose a customized nonlinear compensation method that extends the linear dynamic range by over 7 dB. We developed a compressive sensing-based algorithm (CS-Rydberg) to suppress noise and mitigate the undersampling problem. Experimentally, we demonstrate a compact prototype that achieves centimeter-level ranging precision (RMSE = 1.06 cm) within 1.6–1.9 m. By synthesizing a 1-GHz equivalent bandwidth via sparse stepped-frequency sampling over 2.6–3.6 GHz, we observe resolvable target separations down to 15 cm under controlled sparse scenarios. These results validate the feasibility of quantum sensing based on Rydberg atomic receivers and underscore the architecture’s scalability. By harnessing the atoms’ ultrabroad spectral response, the synthesized bandwidth can extend well beyond the current range. This enables sub-centimeter resolution in future radar systems while preserving quantum traceable calibration and a highly simplified front end.