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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Transfer phase of microwave to beat amplitude in a Rydberg atom-based mixer by Zeeman modulation

Feng-Dong Jia, Huaiyu Zhang, Xiubin Liu, Jiong Mei, Yonghong Yu, Zhao-Qing Lin, Hai-Yue Dong, Ya Liu, Jian Zhang, Feng Xie, Zhi-Ping Zhong

Published Aug 6, 2021• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Microwave phase detection is an essential technique in antenna metrology, radar, and communications. The Rydberg atom-based mixer has been successful in the measurement of the phase of a signal microwave field by creating a beat in the presence of a local microwave field, in which the phase information is transferred into the phase of the beat. In this study, we extend the function of the Rydberg atom-based mixer by adding alternating current Zeeman modulation, and find that the phase information is transferred into the amplitude of the beat, not only its phase. As the results, the phase information can be measured simply and real-time. The results show that another ‘dimension’ operation can be introduced into the Rydberg atom-based mixer to expand the functions and applications of the mixer, which is very useful for future real-time sensing applications. An experiment involving real-time measurement and phase-modulated digital communication based on the beat+Zeeman method is presented.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6455/ac1b66

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Abstract Microwave phase detection is an essential technique in antenna metrology, radar, and communications. The Rydberg atom-based mixer has been successful in the measurement of the phase of a signal microwave field by creating a beat in the presence of a local microwave field, in which the phase information is transferred into the phase of the beat. In this study, we extend the function of the Rydberg atom-based mixer by adding alternating current Zeeman modulation, and find that the phase information is transferred into the amplitude of the beat, not only its phase. As the results, the phase information can be measured simply and real-time. The results show that another ‘dimension’ operation can be introduced into the Rydberg atom-based mixer to expand the functions and applications of the mixer, which is very useful for future real-time sensing applications. An experiment involving real-time measurement and phase-modulated digital communication based on the beat+Zeeman method is presented.
Recently, a Rydberg atom-based mixer was developed to measure the phase of a radio frequency (RF) field. The phase of the signal RF (SIG RF) field is down-converted directly to the phase of a beat signal created by the presence of a local RF (LO RF) field. In this study, we propose that the Rydberg atom-based mixer can be converted to an all-optical phase detector by amplitude modulation (AM) of the LO RF field; that is, the phase of the SIG RF field is related to both the amplitude and phase of the beat signal. When the AM frequency of the LO RF field is the same as the frequency of the beat signal, the beat signal will further interfere with the AM of the LO RF field inside the atom, and then the amplitude of the beat signal is related to the phase of the SIG RF field. The amplitude of the beat signal and the phase of the SIG RF field show a linear relationship within the range of 0 to π/2 when the phase of the AM is set with a difference π/4 from the phase of the LO RF field. The minimum phase resolution can be as small as 0.6° by optimizing the experimental conditions according to a simple theoretical model. This study will expand and contribute to the development of RF measurement devices based on Rydberg atoms.
Rydberg atoms have been shown to be very useful in performing absolute measurements of the magnitude of a radio frequency (RF) field using electromagnetically induced transparency. However, there has been less success in using Rydberg atoms for the measurement of the phase of an RF field. Measuring the phase of a RF field is a necessary component for many important applications, including antenna metrology, communications, and radar. We demonstrate a scheme for measuring the phase of an RF field by using Rydberg atoms as a mixer to down-convert an RF field at 20 GHz to an intermediate frequency on the order of kHz. The phase of the intermediate frequency corresponds directly to the phase of the RF field. We use this approach to measure the phase shift on an electromagnetic wave from a horn antenna as the antenna is placed at different distances from the Rydberg atom sensor. The atom-based RF phase measurements allow us to measure the propagation constant of the RF wave to within 0.1% of the theoretical value.
We propose and demonstrate what we believe to be a novel method for measuring the polarization direction of a microwave electric field in a single measurement using a Rydberg atom-based mixer with two orthogonally polarized local microwave electric fields. This approach eliminates the need for physical rotation of the local field, allowing the polarization angle of the signal field to be determined directly by measuring the ratio of the two beat signals. Furthermore, introducing a weak static magnetic field enables the utilization of the Zeeman effect and exploitation of polarization asymmetry. This distinction allows for determining the polarization direction of the microwave field is θ or 180° - θ within the 0 to 180-degree range. The capability to measure microwave polarization in real-time across this range is very valuable for applications in microwave sensing and information transmission.
A Rydberg atom-based mixer has opened up a new method to characterize microwave electric fields such as the precise measurement of their phase and strength. This study further demonstrates, theoretically and experimentally, a method to accurately measure the polarization of a microwave electric field based on a Rydberg atom-based mixer. The results show that the amplitude of the beat note changes with the polarization of the microwave electric field in a period of 180 degrees, and in the linear region a polarization resolution better than 0.5 degree can be easily obtained which reaches the best level by a Rydberg atomic sensor. More interestingly, the mixer-based measurements are immune to the polarization of the light field that forms the Rydberg EIT. This method considerably simplifies theoretical analysis and the experimental system required for measuring microwave polarization using Rydberg atoms and is of interest in microwave sensing.
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.
Highly sensitive detection of microwave (MW) fields throughout ultra-wideband spectrum is always an important subject in metrology, electromagnetism and cosmology. Rydberg atomic electrometers, which implement electric field measurements by detecting the disturbance of atomic energy levels, have the potentials to breakthrough the sensitivity and size limits of conventional sensors. However, due to the discrete structure of the energy levels, current measurements can only exhibit high sensitivity at the discontinuous frequencies which correspond to certain transitions. In this work, by implementing energy level modulation of Rydberg atom through Zeeman effect, we achieve continuous highly sensitive MW fields detection within 1-40 GHz ultra-wideband spectrum where the detection sensitivity is roundly below 65 nV cm-1 Hz-1/2, which is 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than that of the state-of-the-art continuous measurement architectures. The proposed method is expected to expand the working bandwidth from MHz to THz and therefore greatly accelerate the practical applications in the areas of radar and electronic reconnaissance. Detecting microwave fields across an ultra-wideband spectrum is crucial for advancements in metrology, electromagnetism, and cosmology. Here, the authors utilize Zeeman effect modulation of Rydberg atoms to achieve continuous, highly sensitive detection from 1-40 GHz, significantly enhancing sensitivity and potentially transforming radar and electronic reconnaissance applications.