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Broadband tunable ultra-compact resonator enhanced Rydberg atomic sensor

Weipeng Wan, Yi Lin, Kai Yang, Aojie Zhou, Fu Yunqi

Published Nov 4, 2025• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this article, we propose a tunable multilayered resonator (TMR) to achieve broadband high-sensitivity sensing within a deep-subwavelength structure. The proposed TMR significantly enhances the incident electric field for Rydberg atoms, improving the sensitivity of the room-temperature atomic sensor. Additionally, by incorporating varactor diodes, the resonant frequency of the TMR can be dynamically controlled by adjusting the diode bias voltage. In the experiment, the TMR realized a 45.26% relative bandwidth, ranging from 13.19 MHz to 19.16 MHz. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the system reached 0.13 µV/cm/Hz in the presence of the TMR at 19.16 MHz, compared to only 24.59 µV/cm/Hz without the TMR.

DOI
10.1364/oe.578039

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IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation•Apr 16, 2024•24 citations
In this article, we propose a tunable multilayered resonator (TMR) to achieve broadband high-sensitivity sensing within a deep-subwavelength structure. The proposed TMR significantly enhances the incident electric field for Rydberg atoms, improving the sensitivity of the room-temperature atomic sensor. Additionally, by incorporating varactor diodes, the resonant frequency of the TMR can be dynamically controlled by adjusting the diode bias voltage. In the experiment, the TMR realized a 45.26% relative bandwidth, ranging from 13.19 MHz to 19.16 MHz. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the system reached 0.13 µV/cm/Hz in the presence of the TMR at 19.16 MHz, compared to only 24.59 µV/cm/Hz without the TMR.
In this article, we propose a new paradigm of room-temperature Rydberg atomic receiver for high frequency (HF) band sensing with high sensitivity. The proposed Rydberg atomic HF band receiver is implemented via a multilayered split-ring resonator (MSRR) and an atomic vapor cell. The MSRR is constructed by a five-layered printed circuit board within a deep-subwavelength size, providing a strongly enhanced electric field of the incident radio-frequency (RF) field. Using a quantum-optical readout of AC level shifts of field-sensitive atomic Rydberg states, the enhanced intra-cavity RF field significantly improves the sensitivity of the atomic receiver. In the measurement, we characterize the AC-stark shift in the frequency and power spectrum of the incident RF field. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the whole system is presented by utilizing the off-resonant Rydberg atomic heterodyne technique. In the absence of the MSRR, the sensitivity for an RF signal at 20.51 MHz was found to be 27.46 μV/cm √Hz. However, with the presence of our MSRR, the sensitivity significantly improved to 29.09 nV/cm √Hz, indicating a remarkable enhancement capacity of 944 times or 60 dB. This research holds great potential for high-sensitivity Rydberg atomic sensing, particularly in the HF band.
Resonant structures provide a promising approach to significantly enhance the sensing sensitivity of Rydberg atomic receivers. However, conventional resonators predominantly operate at fixed frequencies, thereby constraining the intrinsic broadband response capabilities of Rydberg atoms. This study introduces a broadband frequency reconfigurable resonator (BFRR) engineered to augment sensitivity while preserving the broadband characteristics of atomic receivers. By employing varactor diodes to dynamically adjust equivalent capacitance and PIN diodes to selectively activate distinct inductive branches, the BFRR achieves continuous electronic tuning from 231 to 586 MHz, corresponding to a relative bandwidth of 86.9%. Inoff-resonant atomic heterodyne configurations, the integration of the BFRR enhances sensitivity by nearly two orders of magnitude across the tuning range, attaining a sensitivity of 30.4 (nV/cm)/Hz\sqrt{\text {H}z}Hz​at 564.2 MHz. This advancement significantly improves both the sensitivity and broadband adaptability of Rydberg atomic receivers, thereby offering essential support for progress in quantum electrometry.
The quantum microwave measurement technique based on Rydberg atoms enables the measurement of microwave electric field over an ultrawide frequency range. To improve the sensitivity while maintaining its broadband characteristics, we propose a tunable local electric field enhancement resonator loaded with varactor diodes. Simulation results show that the tunable frequency covers from 305 MHz to 455 MHz and the electric field enhancement multiplier is higher than 40 dB. Experimental test results based on the AC Stark effect demonstrate that the resonator has the electric field enhancement capability from 323 MHz to 443 MHz by changing the bias voltage of the varactor diode. This tunable electric field enhancement resonator is expected to improve the ability of quantum microwave technology in broadband measurements.
Broadband Rydberg Atomic Microwave Sensing with 44.6 \,MHz Instantaneous Bandwidth
Rydberg atoms have become a promising novel type of microwave sensor due to their excellent physical properties -- broad frequency coverage and large electric dipole moments. High sensitivity and broad instantaneous bandwidth are two indispensable requirements for deployable Rydberg microwave sensors. However, enabling broadband operation while retaining high sensitivity has been a longstanding barrier limiting their applications. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a Rydberg microwave sensor whose instantaneous bandwidth is significantly enhanced via an auxiliary microwave field. By finely modulating the Rydberg energy levels with this field, we broaden the bandwidth substantially while retaining the sensor's inherent high sensitivity. An instantaneous bandwidth of 44.6 \,MHz ($\pm22.322.322.3\,MHz)withasensitivityof225.7MHz) with a sensitivity of 225.7MHz)withasensitivityof225.7\,nVnVnV\,cmcmcm^{-1}\,HzHzHz^{-1/2}$ is realized in a thermal 87^{87}87Rb vapor with the local microwave frequency of 16.03 \,GHz. Our work delivers concurrent broad instantaneous bandwidth and high sensitivity for Rydberg microwave sensors, paving a technically viable path for their practical deployment in broadband microwave metrology, radar, and wireless communication.
High-sensitivity amplitude and frequency detection of microwave electric fields is of significant importance in various fields, including communications, microwave quantum technology, aerospace, medicine, and meteorology. Rydberg atom-based sensors promise traceable standards and high sensitivity for detecting weak electric fields and enhancing sensing sensitivity, mainly by using superheterodyne technology and resonant structures. Detecting high-frequency (HF) band fields with high sensitivity using Rydberg atom sensors is a significant challenge due to the requirement of exciting atoms to extremely high energy states for resonant detection. We demonstrate the off-resonant Rydberg atomic superheterodyne architecture with additional resonators for greatly enhancing the sensing sensitivity to HF band fields. In this approach, we propose a miniaturized square spiral resonator with an electrical size of$0.011~\lambda $at 15.54 MHz. To reduce the electric-field-screening effect of the adsorption of alkali metal atoms, we use a monocrystalline sapphire cesium (Cs) vapor cell. By utilizing the off-resonant alternating current (ac) Stark effect, the initial sensitivity of the Rydberg atom sensor without the resonator is measured to be10.39 μV/cmHz10.39~\mu \text {V/cm}\sqrt {\text {Hz}}10.39 μV/cmHz​at room temperature. With the addition of the miniaturized square spiral resonator, the sensitivity significantly improved to2.60 nV/cmHz2.60~\text {nV/cm}\sqrt {\text {Hz}}2.60 nV/cmHz​, which has been inaccessible so far with atomic sensors. Here, we provide an enhancement of 72 dB, which is three orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity than when the resonator is not used. This enhancement resonator extends Rydberg atomic high-sensitivity sensing to the HF band and shows great potential, especially in shortwave radio reception.
Highly sensitive detection of VHF band fields poses a challenge for Rydberg atomic sensing since resonant detection requires exciting atoms to extremely high energy states. We demonstrate a PCB-based electrically tunable resonator (PETR) for enhancing the sensing sensitivity of the Rydberg atomic sensor to VHF band fields. In this approach, the sub-wavelength PETR is made of PCB, which offers improved mechanical strength and miniaturization. During the measurements, a parallel-plate waveguide is utilized as the radio frequency (RF) fields launcher to eliminate unintentional scattering from the surroundings. By adjusting the bias voltage applied to the tuning varactor of the PETR, we can continuously tune the resonant frequencies from 187 MHz to 293.6 MHz, corresponding to a relative bandwidth of 44%. There is a fluctuation in the enhancement factor of the PETR, ranging from 17.6 to 60.1, which is primarily caused by misalignment between the laser beam and the resonant area. Furthermore, employing the off-resonant Rydberg atomic heterodyne technique, we investigated the sensitivity of the system. In the absence of the PETR, the sensitivity for a RF signal at 250.5 MHz was found to be 24.36 μV/cm√Hz. However, with the presence of our PETR, the sensitivity significantly improved to 433.26 nV/cm√Hz, indicating a remarkable enhancement capacity of 56.23 times or 35 dB. This enhancement resonator holds great potential for improving Rydberg atomic sensing, particularly in the VHF band.