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Applied Physics Letters

Measuring microwave cavity response using atomic Rabi resonances

Fuyu Sun, Jie Ma, Qingsong Bai, Xianhe Huang, Bo Gao, Dong Hou

Published Jul 31, 2017• 41 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this letter, an atom-based approach for measuring the microwave (MW) cavity response (including cavity frequency and Q-factor) is presented, which utilizes a MW magnetic field detection technique based on atomic Rabi resonances. We first identify the Rabi resonances on seven π transitions in Cs atoms and demonstrate their uses in continuously frequency-tunable field detectors. With the atom-based field detectors, we then indicate the possibility of reconstructing the MW cavity response by measuring the MW frequency-dependent Rabi frequency (i.e., MW field strength) inside the cavity. To demonstrate this approach, we measured the response curves of a 9.2-GHz cavity and a cavity resonating at 8.3 GHz and 9.7 GHz using π transitions and σ transitions, respectively. We compared the results measured by our approach with those measured by Vector Networker Analyzer and obtained good agreement. From such atom-based, SI-traceable measurements, the MW cavity response can be linked directly to the Rabi frequency, which could be referred to an atomic clock.

DOI
10.1063/1.4997302

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In this letter, an atom-based approach for measuring the microwave (MW) cavity response (including cavity frequency and Q-factor) is presented, which utilizes a MW magnetic field detection technique based on atomic Rabi resonances. We first identify the Rabi resonances on seven π transitions in Cs atoms and demonstrate their uses in continuously frequency-tunable field detectors. With the atom-based field detectors, we then indicate the possibility of reconstructing the MW cavity response by measuring the MW frequency-dependent Rabi frequency (i.e., MW field strength) inside the cavity. To demonstrate this approach, we measured the response curves of a 9.2-GHz cavity and a cavity resonating at 8.3 GHz and 9.7 GHz using π transitions and σ transitions, respectively. We compared the results measured by our approach with those measured by Vector Networker Analyzer and obtained good agreement. From such atom-based, SI-traceable measurements, the MW cavity response can be linked directly to the Rabi frequency, which could be referred to an atomic clock.
Detection of the microwave (MW) field with high accuracy is very important in the physical science and engineering fields. Herein, an atomic Rabi resonance-based MW magnetic field sensor with a high-dynamic-range is reported, where α and β Rabi resonances are used to measure MW fields. In MW measurement experiments, the sensor successfully measured a magnetic field of about 10 nT at 9.2 GHz using the α Rabi resonance line on the cesium clock transition and continuously detected the MW magnetic field in the X-band over a high dynamic power range of >60 dB from the β Rabi resonance. Finally, the MW power frequency shift and power broadening are investigated to support more sensitive field measurements. The proposed MW detection method can be extended to cover a higher dynamic range and a wider frequency band by applying stronger excitations and exploring non-clock atomic transitions, respectively. In addition to MW magnetic field sensing, other potential application of the proposed method can be explored, including SI-traceable MW calibration and atomic communication.
We present a technique for measuring microwave (MW) field based on Rabi resonances induced by the interaction of atoms with a phase-modulated MW field. A theoretical model of field measurement is used to calculate Rabi frequency. Single-peak feature of the measurement model makes the technique a valuable tool for simple and fast field measurement. As an example, we use the technique to determine the MW field strength inside a Cs vapor cell in the X-band rectangular cavity for applied power in the range of -21 dBm to 20 dBm. The results show that this proposed technique is capable for detecting the field over a broad dynamical range.
Detection of microwave (MW) field with high accuracy is an important problem in the physical science and engineering area. In this work, we reported an atomic Rabi resonance-based MW magnetic field sensor and demonstrated its capability to continuously detect X-band MW magnetic field over a high dynamic power range of > 60 dB. The MW power frequency shift was carefully evaluated and canceled in order to support more sensitive filed measurement. A weak 9.2 GHz MW magnetic field lower than 10 nT was successful extracted from Rabi resonance line on the cesium clock transition. MW field and power detection capabilities of the presented method can be extended to cover a higher dynamic range and a wider frequency band by applying stronger excitation and exploring non-clock atomic transition. Our work enables potential applications including SI-traceable MW calibration and atomic communication.
We have recently presented a technique for measuring unknown microwave (MW) fields based on Rabi resonances induced by the interaction of atoms with a phase-modulated MW field. The single-peak feature of the measurement model makes the technique a valuable tool for simple and fast field measurement. Here we demonstrated a detailed investigation of Rabi resonance of Cs atoms inside a vapour cell. For illustration, we used the Rabi resonance-based field detection technique to determine the field strength inside an X-band cavity for applied power in the range of −21 to 20 dBm. The difference between the practical measurement and the simulation was approximately about 3% for an applied power of 20 dBm, and a higher accuracy could be expected for a larger power input.
In this study, we demonstrate the direct measurement of a microwave (MW) magnetic field through the detection of atomic Rabi resonances with Cs vapor cells in a free-space low-Q cavity. The line shape (amplitude and linewidth) of detected Rabi resonances is investigated versus several experimental parameters such as the laser intensity, cell buffer gas pressure, and cell length. The specially designed low-Q cavity creates a suitable MW environment allowing easy testing of different vapor cells with distinct properties. Obtained results are analyzed to optimize the performances of a MW magnetic field sensor based on the present atom-based detection technique.
We experimentally investigated continuously frequency-tunable microwave (MW) magnetic field detection based on Rabi resonance with a single cesium-rubidium hybrid vapor cell. The multispecies atomic systems, with their tunable abilities in transition frequencies, enabled this atomic sensing head to cover a broader detectable MW field scope compared to the use of a single alkali atom. Here, we demonstrated the simultaneous observation of atomic Rabi resonance signals with 85Rb, 87Rb, and 133Cs in the same vapor cell. Using an experimentally feasible static magnetic field (DC field) below 500 G, we realized a MW magnetic field strength detection with a bandwidth of 4.8 GHz around 8.1 GHz. The use of a hybrid cell system cell also enabled the detection of an identical MW field for different atomic species with the help of the DC field, allowing us to perform a perfect comparison for different applications that require the same electromagnetic environment. The results may be useful for the realization and application of many atomic detectors based on different physical principles.