Overview of Rydberg Atom‐Based Sensors/Receivers for the Measurement of Electric Fields, Power, Voltage, and Modulated Signals

Published

July 15, 2022

Author(s)

chris holloway, Alexandra Artusio-Glimpse, MATTHEW SIMONS, Joshua Gordon

Abstract

One of the keys to developing new science and technologies is to have sound metrology tools and techniques. Fundamental to all electromagnetic measurements is having accurately calibrated probes, antennas, and power meters in order to measure either electric (E) fields or power. For these measurements to be valid and accurate, they need to be traceable to the International System of Units (SI). The world of measurement science is changing rapidly with the SI redefinition that occurred in 2018. As a result of the shift toward fundamental physical constants, the role of primary standards and measurements must change. Atom‐based measurements allow for direct SI‐traceable measurements. Consequently, measurement standards have evolved toward atom‐based measurements over the last few decades; most notably to length (m), frequency (Hz), and time (s) standards. Recently, there has been great interest in extending them to magnetic and electric (E) field sensors. In the past 10 years, we and other groups worldwide have made great progress in the development of a fundamentally new direct SI‐traceable approach based on Rydberg atoms (traceable through Planck's constant, which is now an SI defined constant). The Rydberg atom‐based sensors now have the capability of measuring amplitude, polarization, and phase of the radio frequency ( RF ) field. As such, various applications are beginning to emerge. These include SI‐traceable E‐field probes, power‐sensors, voltage standards, RF cameras, and receivers for communication signals (AM/FM modulated and digital phase modulation signals). In fact, this new atom‐based technology has allowed for interesting and unforeseen applications. These new Rydberg atom‐based sensors will be beneficial for 5G and beyond in that they will allow for the calibrations of both field strength and power for frequencies above 100 GHz. In this chapter, we will summarize this fundamentally new approach for the detection of E‐fields and modulated signals, and we will discuss its various applications.

Citation

Antenna and Array Technologies for Future Wireless Ecosystems

Publisher Info

IEEE Press Wiley, Hobooken, NJ

Pub Type

Book Chapters

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119813910.ch11

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Keywords

Rydberg atom, SI traceability, electric fields, power, metrology, quantum sensor

Citation

holloway, C. , Artusio-Glimpse, A. , SIMONS, M. and Gordon, J. (2022), Overview of Rydberg Atom‐Based Sensors/Receivers for the Measurement of Electric Fields, Power, Voltage, and Modulated Signals, Antenna and Array Technologies for Future Wireless Ecosystems, IEEE Press Wiley, Hobooken, NJ, [online], https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119813910.ch11, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=932793 (Accessed January 17, 2025)