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IEEE Transactions on Quantum Engineering

Satellite Microwave Detection via Cavity-Coupled Rydberg Atomic Receiver

Mingwei Lei, Meng Shi

Published Jan 1, 2026• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Due to the small interaction region between Rydberg atoms and the microwave field, it is difficult to detect weak satellite signals using free-space-coupled atomic receivers. In this work, we introduce a cavity-coupled Rydberg atomic receiver to enhance the microwave field and combine it with a passive antenna to detect C-band satellite signals. Using microwave-atom enhanced coupling, the minimum detectable power of incident microwave is reduced to -128 dBm, and the corresponding sensitivity sensing by atoms is estimated as 21 nV/cm/Hz1/2at a frequency of 3.80 GHz. Furthermore, we also show the effectiveness of this scheme by capturing the beacon signal from a geostationary satellite, without the need for low-noise amplifiers often used in conventional detection. Besides, modulated satellite signals are received with a signal-to-noise ratio of 8 dB with a measurement bandwidth of 10 Hz. Our results demonstrate an advancement in facilitating satellite communications using cavity-coupled Rydberg-atom receivers.

DOI
10.1109/tqe.2026.3690617

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Abstract Developing microwave electric field sensing based on Rydberg atoms has received significant attention due to its unique advantages. However, achieving effective coupling between Rydberg atoms and the microwave electric field in the sensing process is a challenging problem that greatly impacts the sensitivity. To address this, we propose using a microwave resonant cavity to enhance the effective coupling between the Rydberg atoms and the microwave electric field. In our experiment, Rydberg atoms are prepared via a three-photon excitation scheme, and the electric fields are measured without and with a microwave cavity in which the vapor cell is placed inside, respectively. As a result, we achieved an 18 dB enhancement of power sensitivity by adding the cavity, which is an effective enhancement in electric field pulse signal detection. This experimental testing provides a promising direction for enhancing the sensitivity of Rydberg atomic electric field sensors and paves the way for their application in precision electric field measurements.
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Rydberg atom,which exhibits a strong response to weak electric(E) fields,is regarded as a promising atomic receiver to surpass sensitivity of conventional receivers. However, its sensitivity is strongly limited by the noise coming from both classical and quantum levels and how to enhance it significantly remains challenging. Here we experimentally prove that the sensitivity of Rydberg atomic receiver can be increased to 23 nV/cm/Hz1/2 by combining laser arrays. Theoretically, we demonstrate that multiple beams illuminating on a PD perform better than multiple PDs for laser arrays.In our experiment,10 dB SNR enhancement is achieved by utilizing 2 * 2 probe beam arrays, compared to the performance of a laser beam,and it can be enhanced further just by adding a resonator. The results could offer an avenue for the design and optimization of ultrahigh-sensitivity Rydberg atomic receivers and promote applications in cosmology, meteorology, communication, and microwave quantum technology.