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IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques

Broadband Frequency Reconfigurable Resonator for Rydberg Atomic Enhancement Sensing

Kai Yang, Yi Lin, Zhanshan Sun, Yunqi Fu

Published Dec 11, 2025• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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)/$\sqrt{\text {H}z}$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.

DOI
10.1109/tmtt.2025.3635598

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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.
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.
Rydberg atomic receivers (RARs) have emerged in the field of quantum precision measurement due to high sensitivity and self-calibration. In this letter, we demonstrate a compact tunable enhancement resonator (CTER) for enhancing the detective sensitivity of the RAR. The resonator consists of two printed circuit board (PCB) substrates and a copper tuning column, which achieves resonant frequency variation by continuously sliding the copper tuning column. During the measurement, we have achieved electric field enhancement in the 210 MHz to 308.6 MHz band with a relative bandwidth of 38%\%%and the enhancement factor ranging from 38 dB to 47 dB. By adjusting the height of the CTER, different sizes of atomic vapor cells can be accommodated while maintaining good enhancement. In theoff-resonant region, the detective sensitivity of the RAR with and without CTER at 223.7 MHz were measured at 179.37 nV⋅cm−1\cdot {\text{cm}}^{-1}⋅cm−1$ \cdot {\text{Hz}}^{-1/2}and40.16and 40.16and40.16\muVVV\cdotcm−1\text{cm}^{-1}cm−1 \cdot {\text{Hz}}^{-1/2}byutilizingtheRydbergatomicheterodynetechnique,respectively.Furthermore,theCTERdisplaysacompactelectricalsize,approximately3.37×10by utilizing the Rydberg atomic heterodyne technique, respectively. Furthermore, the CTER displays a compact electrical size, approximately 3.37× 10byutilizingtheRydbergatomicheterodynetechnique,respectively.Furthermore,theCTERdisplaysacompactelectricalsize,approximately3.37×10^{-5}$λ3\lambda ^{3}λ3in comparison to other resonators, which facilitates the miniaturization and integration of the RAR. Its remarkable resonance characteristics and broadband tuning capability provide support for achieving high-sensitivity and broadband quantum microwave measurements.
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.
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.
Rydberg atom-based microwave measurement technology has gained attention for its self-calibration, high sensitivity, and wide frequency response. To enhance sensitivity, resonators are typically employed for localized electric field enhancement. With the introduction of AC/DC Stark tuning and laser scanning techniques, resonator designs have been developed to support extended frequency coverage. However, these require sequential scanning or switching to cover the target range, limiting their applicability in passband-wide, multi-frequency detection. To address this issue, this paper proposes a cascaded cavity resonator (CCR) that enables continuous field enhancement within the target S-band range. A theoretical model was established and the key dimensions were optimized via COMSOL-based simulation of the vapor cell's spatial field distribution. Subsequently, validation through Autler-Townes (AT) effect and heterodyne technology confirms that the proposed structure enhances sensitivity by$ \geq$27.2 dB within the 2.781-3.008 GHz bandwidth. This work supports systematic exploration of Rydberg-atom response across a broader spectral range and enables multi-frequency detection without stepwise tuning.
Broadband Rydberg Atomic Microwave Sensing with 44.6 \,MHz Instantaneous Bandwidth
Rydberg atoms have become a promising novel type of microwave sensor due to their excellent physical properties -- broad frequency coverage and large electric dipole moments. High sensitivity and broad instantaneous bandwidth are two indispensable requirements for deployable Rydberg microwave sensors. However, enabling broadband operation while retaining high sensitivity has been a longstanding barrier limiting their applications. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a Rydberg microwave sensor whose instantaneous bandwidth is significantly enhanced via an auxiliary microwave field. By finely modulating the Rydberg energy levels with this field, we broaden the bandwidth substantially while retaining the sensor's inherent high sensitivity. An instantaneous bandwidth of 44.6 \,MHz ($\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.