Development of A New Atom-Based SI Traceable Electric-Field Metrology Technique

Published

October 18, 2017

Author(s)

Christopher L. Holloway, Matthew T. Simons, Joshua A. Gordon

Abstract

We are developing a fundamentally new atom-based approach for Electric (E) metrology. This technique has the capability of becoming a new international standard for E-field measurements and calibrations. Since this new approach is based on atomic transitions of alkali atoms (mainly caesium and rubidium atoms), the probe is self-calibrating and has a capability of performing measurement over a large bandwidth (from 10's MHz to into the THz range). This new approach will lead to a self-calibrated, SI traceable E-field measurement and has the capability to perform measurements on a fine spatial resolution in both the far-field and near-field. We will report on the development of this new metrology approach, including the first fiber- coupled vapor-cell for E-field measurements. We discuss key applications, including self- calibrated measurements, millimeter-wave and sub-THz measurements, field mapping, and sub- wavelength and near-field imaging. We show results for space-free measurements of E-field, for measuring the E-field distribution along the surface of a circuit board, and for measuring the directivity pattern of a horn antenna.

Conference Dates

October 15-20, 2017

Conference Location

Atlanta, GA

Conference Title

Antenna Measurements Techniques Association: 39th Annual Symposium

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

atom-based metrology, e-feilds measurements, rydberg atoms

Citation

Holloway, C. , Simons, M. and Gordon, J. (2017), Development of A New Atom-Based SI Traceable Electric-Field Metrology Technique, Antenna Measurements Techniques Association: 39th Annual Symposium, Atlanta, GA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=923830 (Accessed October 7, 2025)