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Quantum 2.0 Conference and Exhibition

Wideband Simultaneous Microwave Demodulation with a Rydberg Quantum Sensor

Joshua C. Hill, David H. Meyer, Kevin C. Cox, Paul D. Kunz

Published Jan 1, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate simultaneous demodulation and heterodyne detection of five free-space microwave signals spanning 1.7 GHz to 116 GHz using an electric field sensor based on Rydberg atom electromagnetically induced transparency.
DOI
10.1364/quantum.2023.qtu4b.4

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Electric field sensors based on Rydberg atoms offer unique capabilities, relative to traditional sensors, for detecting radio-frequency (rf) signals. In this work, we demonstrate simultaneous demodulation and detection of five rf tones spanning nearly two decades (six octaves), from 1.7 GHz to 116 GHz. We show continuous recovery of the phase and amplitude of each tone and report on the sensitivity of the system and its bandwidth capabilities for multiband detection. We use these capabilities to demonstrate a digital communication protocol, simultaneously receiving on-off-keyed binary data from four bands spanning nearly one decade of frequency.
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.
Recently, the rapid progress of quantum sensing research reveals that the Rydberg atoms have great potentials in becoming high-precision centimeter-scale antenna of low-frequency fields. In order to facilitate efficient and reliable detection of low-frequency fields via Rydberg atoms, we design, implement and analyze a special but low-cost and scalable method based on heterodyning processes under the condition of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) embedded in typical two-photon ground-Rydberg transition. Instead of relying on observing changes in absorption of light by Rydberg atoms, our method focuses on the phase modulation effect on the probe laser induced by the low-frequency fields via the Rydberg EIT mechanism and utilizes a demodulation process to accurately retrieve the signal. The general principles of our method apply to both electric and magnetic fields and it is even possible to realize the combination of both functionalities in the same apparatus. In particular, we experimentally demonstrate the full cycle of operations with respect to both cases. In the measurement of low-frequency electric fields, we discover that the Rydberg dipole-dipole interaction among atoms induce linear superposition of Rydberg states with different angular momentum that generates a first-order response corresponding to the signature of linear Stark effect. As the Rydberg atoms have excellent coupling strengths with electric fields, our results indicate that our method can hopefully reach high-precision performance for practical tasks in the future.
Electromagnetically induced transparency in atomic systems involving Rydberg states is known to be a sensitive probe of incident microwave (MW) fields, in particular those resonant with Rydberg-to-Rydberg transitions. Here we propose an intelligible analytical model of a Rydberg atomic receiver's response to amplitude- (AM) and frequency-modulated (FM) signals and compare it with experimental results, presenting a setup that allows sending signals with either AM or FM and evaluating their efficiency with demodulation. Additionally, the setup reveals a detection configuration using all circular polarizations for optical fields and allowing detection of a circularly polarized MW field, propagating colinearly with optical beams. In our measurements, we systematically show that several parameters exhibit local optimum characteristics and then estimate these optimal parameters and working ranges, addressing the need to devise a robust Rydberg MW sensor and its operational protocol.
Abstract Recently, the rapid progress of quantum sensing research reveals that Rydberg atoms have great potential in becoming high-precision centimeter-scale antennas for low-frequency fields. In order to facilitate efficient and reliable detection of low-frequency fields via Rydberg atoms, we designed and implemented a heterodyne method based on the linear response to external signals under the condition of Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Instead of relying on observing changes in the absorption of light by Rydberg atoms, our method focuses on the phase modulation effect on the probe laser induced by low-frequency fields via the Rydberg EIT mechanism and utilizes a special demodulation process to accurately retrieve signals including both amplitude and phase. The general principles of our method apply to both electric and magnetic fields, and it is even possible to realize a combination of both functionalities in the same apparatus. In particular, we experimentally demonstrate the full cycle of operations with respect to both cases. In measuring low-frequency electric fields, we discover that the Rydberg dipole–dipole interaction among atoms induces a linear superposition of Rydberg states with different angular momentum, generating a first-order response corresponding to the signature of the linear Stark effect. As Rydberg atoms have excellent coupling strengths with electric fields, our results indicate that our method can hopefully achieve high-precision performance for practical tasks in the future.
Atomic heterodyne dressed by a local oscillator resonant with Rydberg transitions allows high sensitivity and robust phase measurement of a microwave electric field, but it is typically limited to detection of discrete frequencies within the narrow bandwidth of Rydberg transitions. Here we demonstrate an atomic heterodyne scheme for continuous-frequency electric field measurement based on multilevel Rydberg atoms in a room-temperature vapor cell. Driven by two off-resonant microwaves acting as a tunable local oscillator field, the heterodyne receiver can retrieve the amplitude, phase, and frequency information of signal microwave in a continuous frequency band. In our experiment, the receiver achieves an electric field sensitivity of up to $1.5\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{V}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{Hz}}^{\ensuremath{-}1/2}$, 80-dB linear dynamic range, and over 1 GHz of continuous frequency range. We also demonstrate the reliable reception of continuously tunable phase-modulated carriers in the digital communication. This work will facilitate the application of atomic heterodyne in the areas such as radar technique, radio monitoring, and radio astronomy.