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Review of Scientific Instruments

Continuous tunability of Rydberg laser frequency after stabilization via the Zeeman effect by DC and AC magnetic fields

Yuxiang Wang, Qianyi Zhang, Yuqing Liu, Jianan Zhang, Feng-Dong Jia, Zhi-Ping Zhong

Published Apr 1, 2025• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Rydberg atoms play a pivotal role in the fields of quantum simulation, quantum computing, and quantum sensing, in which the frequency locking and detuning of the laser used to excite the atoms to Rydberg states are crucial. Here, we introduce a novel frequency locking approach for Rydberg lasers at arbitrary frequencies using the Zeeman effect of both DC and AC magnetic fields. The DC magnetic field is used to shift the atomic energy levels, thus altering the frequency locking point, while the AC magnetic field is employed for Zeeman modulation to generate the error signal. This method also enables free tuning of the laser frequency within a sub-hundred MHz range by adjusting the DC magnetic field while maintaining frequency locking.

DOI
10.1063/5.0251311

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quant-pharXiv:2607.18740•Jul 22, 2026•0 citations
Rydberg atoms play a pivotal role in the fields of quantum simulation, quantum computing, and quantum sensing, in which the frequency locking and detuning of the laser used to excite the atoms to Rydberg states are crucial. Here, we introduce a novel frequency locking approach for Rydberg lasers at arbitrary frequencies using the Zeeman effect of both DC and AC magnetic fields. The DC magnetic field is used to shift the atomic energy levels, thus altering the frequency locking point, while the AC magnetic field is employed for Zeeman modulation to generate the error signal. This method also enables free tuning of the laser frequency within a sub-hundred MHz range by adjusting the DC magnetic field while maintaining frequency locking.
We propose a technique for frequency locking a laser to the Zeeman sublevel transitions between the 5P3/2 intermediate and 32D5/2 Rydberg states in 87Rb. This method allows for continuous frequency tuning over 0.6 GHz by varying an applied external magnetic field. In the presence of the applied field, the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectrum of an atomic vapor splits via the Zeeman effect according to the strength of the magnetic field and the polarization of the pump and probe lasers. We show that the 480 nm pump laser, responsible for transitions between the Zeeman sublevels of the intermediate state and the Rydberg state, can be locked to the Zeeman-split EIT peaks. The short-term frequency stability of the laser lock is 0.15 MHz, and the long-term stability is within 0.5 MHz. The linewidth of the laser lock is ∼0.8 and ∼1.8 MHz in the presence and absence of the external magnetic field, respectively. In addition, we show that in the absence of an applied magnetic field and adequate shielding, the frequency shift of the lock point has a peak-to-peak variation of 1.6 MHz depending on the polarization of the pump field, while when locked to Zeeman sublevels, this variation is reduced to 0.6 MHz. The proposed technique is useful for research involving Rydberg atoms, where large continuous tuning of the laser frequency with stable locking is required.
Abstract We demonstrate a robust method of direct laser frequency locking on the Zeeman sublevel transitions between an intermediate state and Rydberg states, with continuously tunable frequency range from −35 MHz to +35 MHz, which is based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectra of nondegenerate Zeeman sublevels in a Rydberg cascade system. With a small axial magnetic field, the EIT spectrum will split into two individual sub-peaks due to the Zeeman Effect of three energy levels, including the 133 Cs 6S 1/2 , 6P 3/2 and n l Rydberg states which form the cascade system. It is shown that the coupling field, corresponding to the transitions between the Zeeman sublevels of the intermediate state and Rydberg state, can be locked arbitrarily on any one of the two EIT sub-peaks. The frequency stability of locked lasers is bounded by 0.81 MHz. The root of Allan variance of the frequency reaches a minimum of 2.06 × 10 − 8 for an averaging time of 512 s.
We herein develop and demonstrate a stable frequency-locking scheme for Rydberg atomic experiments. We use the Zeeman effect to modulate the three-level ladder-type Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) signal to lock the laser frequency of the coupling light for transition from its intermediate state to a Rydberg state. The effects of polarization of the probe and coupling lights, and the amplitude of the AC modulated magnetic field B 0 on the EIT and the corresponding dispersive error signal, are both analyzed. The results show that both the EIT signal and dispersive error signal are the strongest when the polarizations of coupling and probe fields are circular and equal. The signal-to-noise ratio of the dispersive error signal increases with B 0 . The slope of the dispersive error signal increases first and then decreases with B 0 , which is related to the increase of the EIT linewidth caused by the higher B 0 . The linewidth of the laser is significantly less than 500 kHz after frequency locking, which satisfies the requirements of most experiments involving Rydberg atoms. The method proposed herein can generally be applied to any cascade system of Rydberg atoms.
Researchers are interested in the sensor based on Rydberg atoms because of its broad testing frequency range and outstanding sensitivity. However, the discrete frequency detection limits its further employment. We expand the frequency range of microwaves using Rydberg atoms under the Zeeman effect. In such a scheme, the magnetic field is employed as a tool to split and modify adjacent Rydberg level intervals to realize tunable frequency measurement over 100 MHz under 0-31.5 Gauss magnetic field. In this frequency range, the microwave has a linear dynamic variation range of 63 dB, and has achieved a sensitivity of 11.72 µV cm -1 Hz -1/2 with the minimum detectable field strength of 17.2 µV/cm.. Compared to the no magnetic field scenario, the sensitivity would not decrease. By theoretical analysis, in a strong magnetic field, the tunable frequency range can be much larger than 100 MHz. The proposed method for achieving tunable frequency measurement provides a crucial tool in radars and communication.
We present a simple method for producing a low-drift atomic frequency reference based upon the Zeeman effect. Our Zeeman Shifted Atomic Reference `ZSAR' is demonstrated to have tens of GHz tuning range, limited only by the strength of the applied field. ZSAR uses Doppler-free laser spectroscopy in a thermal vapor where the vapor is situated in a large, static and controllable magnetic field. We use a heated 85^{85}85Rb vapor cell between a pair of position-adjustable permanent magnets capable of applying magnetic fields up to 1 T. To demonstrate the frequency reference we use a spectral feature from the Zeeman shifted D1 line in 85^{85}85Rb at 795 nm to stabilize a laser to the 7S1/2_{1/2}1/2​ ⟶\longrightarrow⟶ 23P1/2_{1/2}1/2​ transition in atomic cesium, which is detuned by approximately 19 GHz from the unperturbed Rb transition. We place an upper bound on the stability of the technique by measuring a 2.5 MHz RMS frequency difference between the two spectral features over a 24 hour period. This versatile method could be adapted easily for use with other atomic species and the tuning range readily increased by applying larger magnetic fields.
Rydberg atoms have emerged as a versatile and efficient platform for high-sensitivity quantum sensing of free-space electric fields, with remarkable progress in detecting low-frequency signals. To date, low-frequency Rydberg receivers have relied on a constant bias field, typically realized via intra-cell electrodes or Rydberg plasmas generated by photoelectric effects or inter-atomic interactions. While these approaches improve sensitivity, they suffer from inherent challenges in calibration, long-term stability, and robustness, hindering practical deployment. Here, we propose, design, and experimentally demonstrate a quantum sensing scheme for low-frequency electric signals using modulated auxiliary fields in Rydberg atoms. Unlike conventional methods that employ external DC electric fields that are often fully shielded by adsorbed atom layers on the cell walls, we introduce an AC-field modulation strategy. The incoming low-frequency signal mixes with the auxiliary field, and together they induce Stark shifts of the Rydberg level. These shifts are mapped onto the probe laser via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), in a manner analogous to heterodyne detection. We demonstrate a sensitivity of 7.5±2.6 μV/(cm⋅Hz1/2)7.5 \pm 2.6~\mathrm{μV/(cm\cdot Hz^{1/2})}7.5±2.6 μV/(cm⋅Hz1/2) at 5 kHz and a minimal detectable field of 0.26±0.04 μV/cm0.26 \pm 0.04~\mathrm{μV/cm}0.26±0.04 μV/cm with an integration time of 1000 s. Furthermore, we extend this approach to systematically analyze the performance of generalized auxiliary fields containing multiple frequency components. By virtue of modulated auxiliary field and quantum frequency mixing, our results establish a robust and systematic framework for quantum sensing of low-frequency electric fields with Rydberg atoms, offering improved sensitivity, stability, and immunity to environmental drifts.