Rydberg atom reception of a handheld UHF frequency-modulated two-way radio

Published

February 10, 2026

Author(s)

Noah Schlossberger, Tate McDonald, Nikunjkumar Prajapati, Christopher Holloway

Abstract

Rydberg atoms, due to their large polarizabilities and strong transition dipole moments, have been utilized as sensitive electric field sensors. While their ability to detect modulated signals has been previously demonstrated, these studies have largely been limited to laboratory-generated signals tailored specifically to atomic detection. Here, we extend the practical applicability of Rydberg sensors by demonstrating the reception of real-world frequency-modulated (FM) audio transmissions using a consumer-grade handheld two-way radio operating in the UHF band. Detection is based on the ac Stark shift induced by the radio signal in a Rydberg atomic vapor, with demodulation performed using an offset local oscillator and lock-in amplification. We successfully demodulate speech signals and evaluate the audio spectral response and reception range. We show that all consumer-accessible radio channels can be simultaneously detected, and demonstrate simultaneous reception of two neighboring channels with at least 53 dB of isolation. This work underscores the potential of Rydberg atom-based receivers for practical, real-world FM signal detection.

Citation

Physical Review Applied

Volume

25

Issue

2

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1103/jlrg-6889

Local Download

Citation

Schlossberger, N. , McDonald, T. , Prajapati, N. and Holloway, C. (2026), Rydberg atom reception of a handheld UHF frequency-modulated two-way radio, Physical Review Applied, [online], https://doi.org/10.1103/jlrg-6889, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=960542 (Accessed February 28, 2026)