NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Optical Measurements of Strong Microwave Fields with Rydberg Atoms in a Vapor Cell
Published
Author(s)
Christopher L. Holloway
Abstract
We demonstrate an approach for electric-field measurements of high power radiation sources with a room temperature Rydberg-atom gas. We present strong-field measurements of microwaves tuned near the two photon 65D5=2−66D5=2 Rydberg transition in rubidium for a field strength reaching 233 V/m, about 20% of the microwave ionization threshold, and compare it to a weak- field measurement of millimeter-wave radiation. A Floquet treatment is used to model the Rydberg level energies and their excitation rates, which are in excellent agreement with the observed spectra. Our Floquet maps reveal the existence of level crossings and spectral features in strong fields that readily enable traceable electric field measurements of high power radiation sources to high precision. The effects of field inhomogeneities in the measurements are also discussed.
Holloway, C.
(2016),
Optical Measurements of Strong Microwave Fields with Rydberg Atoms in a Vapor Cell, Physical Review Applied, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=918738
(Accessed October 12, 2025)