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Rydberg Atoms for Versatile Terahertz Sensing

Wiktor Krokosz, Jan Nowosielski, Sebastian Borówka, Mateusz Mazelanik, Wojciech Wasilewski, Michal P. Parniak

Published Jan 1, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a THz sensing approach using Rydberg atoms, leveraging six-wave mixing for RF-to-optical upconversion, single-photon detection, and custom metamaterials for polarization and phase matching, enabling room-temperature, high-precision measurements beyond traditional limits.
DOI
10.1364/cleo_fs.2025.ff111_2

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Single-photon terahertz (THz) detection is one of the most demanding technologies for a variety of fields and could lead to many breakthroughs. Although significant progress has been made in the past two decades, operating it at room temperature still remains a great challenge. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, a room temperature THz detector at single-photon levels based on nonlinear wave mixing in thermal Rydberg atomic vapor. The low-energy THz photons are coherently upconverted to high-energy optical photons via a nondegenerate Rydberg state involved in a six-wave mixing process, and therefore, single-photon THz detection is achieved by a conventional optical single-photon counting module. The noise equivalent power of such a detector reaches 9.5 × 10−19 W/Hz1/2, which is more than four orders of magnitude lower than the state-of-the-art room temperature THz detectors. The optimum quantum efficiency of the whole-wave mixing process is about 4.3%, with 40.6 dB dynamic range, and the maximum conversion bandwidth is 172 MHz, which is all-optically controllable. The developed fast and continuous-wave single-photon THz detector at room temperature operation has a great potential for portability and chip-scale integration, and could be revolutionary for a wide range of applications in remote sensing, wireless communication, biomedical diagnostics, and quantum optics.
Realization of practical terahertz wireless communications still faces many challenges. The receiver with high sensitivity is important for THz wireless communications. Here we demonstrate a terahertz receiver based on the cesium Rydberg atoms in a room-temperature vapor cell. The minimum detectable THz electric field is calibrated. With this receiver, the phase-sensitive conversion of amplitude-modulated or frequency-modulated terahertz waves into optical signals is performed. The results show that the atomic receiver has many advantages due to its quantum properties. Particularly, the long distance THz wireless communications is achievable using this receiver. Furthermore, the atomic receiver can be used in the THz wireless-to-optical link.
Rydberg atoms are neutral atoms excited to high principal quantum number states, which endows them with exaggerated properties such as large electric dipole moments, long lifetimes, and extreme sensitivity to external electromagnetic fields. These characteristics form the foundation of Rydberg atom-based sensors, an emerging class of quantum devices capable of optically detecting electric fields across frequencies from DC to the terahertz regime. Rydberg-based electrometry operates through both Autler–Townes (AT) splitting of resonant Rydberg transitions and Stark-shift measurements for high-frequency or far-detuned fields, enabling broadband field sensing from DC to the THz regime. Using ladder-type electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and AT splitting, these sensors enable non-invasive, SI-traceable measurements of field amplitude, frequency, phase, and polarization. Recent developments have demonstrated broadband electric field probes, voltage calibration standards, and compact RF receivers based on thermal vapor cells and integrated photonic architectures. Furthermore, innovations in multi-photon EIT, superheterodyne readout, and multi wave mixing have expanded the dynamic range and bandwidth of Rydberg-based electrometry. Despite challenges related to environmental perturbations, linewidth broadening, and laser stabilization, ongoing advances in atomic control, hybrid photonic integration, and EIT-based readout promise scalable, chip-compatible sensors. This review summarizes the physical principles, experimental progress, and emerging applications of Rydberg atom-based sensing, emphasizing their potential for next generation quantum metrology, wireless communication, and precision field mapping.
We propose a four level Rb Rydberg atom system to detect the terahertz (THz) waves with the frequency of 0.17 THz under room temperature and simulate the factors that influence the detection of THz waves. The simulation results show that the Aulter- Townes splitting interval in the electromagnetically induced transparency spectrum is proportional to the applied THz electric field intensity, and the sensitivity of the detection system is higher than that of the existing room temperature THz detectors.
One of the advantages of Rydberg atom-based detection of microwave and THz fields is weak distortion of the measured field, allowing for precise and stealthy detection. However, recent developments focused on using Rydberg atoms as a RF mixer with a local oscillator field in a superheterodyne-type detection that is no longer all-optical, as the local oscillator antenna has to be a part of the detector. Here we undertake the task of developing an all-optical detection, where the phase reference is provided not in local oscillator, but instead in the polarization of atoms. To realize this feature, we access the 13.9 GHz Rydberg transition in rubidium with two separate optical excitation paths and measure the beating of probe field. We report an overall detection sensitivity of 176 nV/cm/ √Hz and reliable operation up to 3.5 mV/cm of RF field, results that are parallel to superheterodyne detection method demonstrated in the same setup. The results of this work are largely based on an earlier conducted study, published as a preprint.1 The present manuscript is meant to serve as an appendix to this work, focusing on putting this research in the context of all-optical detection schemes.