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Japanese Journal of Applied Physics

Visualization of radio-frequency waves via double resonance spectroscopy of cesium atoms

Moto Kinoshita, Masanori Ishii

Published Mar 18, 2019• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract A novel technique to visualize RF waves in the gigahertz frequency range based on the double resonance spectroscopy of cesium-133 atoms is developed. This technique allows one to obtain fluorescence at a near-infrared wavelength of 852 nm, which can be detected by a charge-coupled device camera. The fluorescence depends on the strength distribution of 9.2 GHz RF waves. This method realizes real-time, high-resolution imaging using RF waves. In this study, the visualization of RF waves on a microstrip line is demonstrated and RF standing waves are clearly observed. The sensitivity of the visualization to the input power and phase shift of the RF standing waves arising from a particular condition of the reflection waves are investigated.

DOI
10.7567/1347-4065/ab10aa

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Journal of Applied Physics•Nov 15, 1999•7 citations
Abstract A novel technique to visualize RF waves in the gigahertz frequency range based on the double resonance spectroscopy of cesium-133 atoms is developed. This technique allows one to obtain fluorescence at a near-infrared wavelength of 852 nm, which can be detected by a charge-coupled device camera. The fluorescence depends on the strength distribution of 9.2 GHz RF waves. This method realizes real-time, high-resolution imaging using RF waves. In this study, the visualization of RF waves on a microstrip line is demonstrated and RF standing waves are clearly observed. The sensitivity of the visualization to the input power and phase shift of the RF standing waves arising from a particular condition of the reflection waves are investigated.
Improvements in spectral resolution and sensitivity of a cesium based resonance fluorescence imaging monochromator (RFIM) are described. Alignment of the two lasers used in the excitation scheme in a co-propagating geometry have resulted in a detector spectral bandpass (270 MHz) that is narrower than the Doppler broadened profile (380 MHz) of cesium vapor at room temperature. Improvements in the experimental design, namely the addition of an image intensifier and cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, have resulted in increased sensitivity; we report a limit of detection of 10 8 photons per pixel limited by image intensifier noise. Images of the cesium D 2 line emission (852.12 nm) from a cesium hollow cathode lamp were compared to an argon emission line (4Sº 1/2 → 4P 3/2 ) at 852.14 nm from a silver/argon hollow cathode lamp as a demonstration of the spectral resolution. The ability of the RFIM to discriminate between photons exciting the F = 4 vs. F = 3 ground state hyperfine level (a frequency difference of 9.2 GHz) of the cesium 6 2 S 1/2 state was also investigated to further demonstrate the spectral selectivity. The potential use of the described RFIM for chemical imaging applications is discussed.
Superconducting microcircuits and metamaterials are promising candidates for use in new generation cryogenic electronics. Their functionality is largely justified by the macroscopic distribution of electromagnetic fields in arranged unit cells, rather than by the microscopic properties of composite materials. We present a new method for visualizing the spatial structure of penetrating microwaves with microscopic resolution in planar superconducting macroscopic resonators as the most important circuit-forming elements of modern microelectronics. This method uses a low-temperature laser scanning microscope that examines the phase (i.e., direction) and amplitude of local radio-frequency currents versus the two-dimensional coordinates of the superconducting resonant structure under test. Phase-sensitive contrast is achieved by synchronizing the intensity-modulated laser radiation with the resonant harmonics of the microwave signal passing through the sample. In this case, the laser-beam-induced loss in the illuminated area will strongly depend on the local phase difference between the RF carrier signal and the spatially temporal structure of the focused laser oscillation. This approach eliminates the hardware limitations of the existing technique of radio-frequency microscopy and brings the phase-sensitive demodulation mode to the level necessary for studying the physics of superconducting metamaterials. The advantage of the presented method over the previous method of RF laser scanning micros-copy is demonstrated by the example of the formation of standing waves in a spiral superconducting Archimedean resonator up to the 38th eigenmode resonance.
Abstract Rydberg-atom–based Terahertz (THz) reflection imaging provides ultra-high sensitivity and, in principle, the potential for MHz-level imaging speed, overcoming the limitations of THz transmission imaging for strongly absorbing samples. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a Rydberg-atom THz reflection imaging system, converting reflected THz fields into visible fluorescence using a cesium vapor cell along the 14 P 3/2 → 13 D 5/2 → 6 P 3/2 pathway, and sequentially imaging the fluorescence with a sCMOS camera. The system achieves clear reflection images with a minimum resolvable line-pair period of approximately 1.26 mm, and a minimum detectable power of 2.41 fW·s -1/2 per (6.5×6.5) μ m 2 pixel. Representative applications include reflection imaging of metallic samples, discrimination of Polar Liquids, and non-contact visualization of superficial human vasculature and finger motion. This system offers a promising route toward high-frame-rate, room-temperature, full-field THz imaging for both industrial and scientific applications.
We present on the recent development of an atomic antenna probe and front-end based on Rydberg atoms for applications in radio-frequency (RF) imaging and synthetic apertures. Fundamental atom-RF responses and RF amplitude and phase determination methods for Rydberg atom probes are described. We demonstrate electric field imaging in the near-field of a 2.5 GHz Yagi-Uda antenna device under test (DUT) using a portable Rydberg atom probe and integrated front-end, the Rydberg Field Probe (RFP). A wide-area RF electric field map is generated by positioning of the RFP at discrete spatial measurement locations in the near field of the DUT, from which a composite image of the two-dimensional antenna pattern is realized at a spatial resolution of λ/2\lambda /2λ/2 and field uncertainties within 5.5%. Finally, we demonstrate RF phase imaging of a 100 GHz field using a Rydberg EIT optical fluorescence imager and RF self-homodyning, towards RF phase-sensing and imaging at millimeter-wave frequencies.
A novel method of ultrahigh-resolution, frequency-resolved imaging using atomic vapor cells is proposed. The method is based on the accurate measurement of the fluorescence signal intensity distribution along the absorption path length when the signal frequency is tuned to a wing of the atomic absorption line. Two-step resonance fluorescence of Hg202 vapor was used for one-dimensional imaging of the Hg resonance radiation at 253.7 nm. An imaging signal with a frequency difference of 500 MHz could be easily distinguished visually and even a frequency difference of 80 MHz could be detected after appropriate processing of the fluorescence imaging signal. Several other novel methods of one- and two-dimensional multifrequency imaging are discussed.