基于Rydberg原子的超宽频带射频传感器

Rydberg原子具有极大的极化率和微波跃迁偶极矩,对外界电磁场非常敏感,可实现基于Rydberg原子的超宽频带射频电场的高分辨高灵敏测量.通过Rydberg原子的全光学无损的电磁感应透明探测手段,可以实现基于原子的快速免校准宽频带(0.01-1000 GHz)外电场的精密测量.对于频率大于1 GHz的微波场,由微波场耦合相邻Rydberg能级形成的Autler-Townes分裂进行测量;而对于频率小于1 GHz的长波射频场,由Rydberg能级的射频边带能级进行测量.这种方法是基于原子能级参数,可溯源到基本物理常量,不依赖于外界参考;且对电场无干扰,易于实现微型化和集成化,具有广泛的应用前景.本文主要综述了基于Rydberg原子的外电场测量的最新研究进展,重点介绍长波长射频场的测量,包括电场强度、频率以及极化方向的测量,详细介绍了其测量原理和探测灵敏度,并讨论了其应用前景及未来发展方向.

Broadband Rydberg atom-based radio-frequency field sensor

Significant progress has been made in atom-based measurements of length, time, gravity and electromagnetic fields in recently years. Rydberg atom-based microwave electric field measurement, using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in room temperature alkali-metal vapors, has been extensively investigated and aroused the broad interest. This approach may establish a new standard for the measurements of microwave (MW) and radio frequency (RF) electric fields.
In this review, we describe the work on a new method of measuring electric fields based on quantum interference by using either cesium or rubidium atoms contained in a dielectric vapor cell. Rydberg atoms with principal quantum number n >>1 have large direct current (DC) polarizabilities and microwave transition dipole moments, thereby making them extremely sensitive to external electric fields. Using the Rydberg three-level EIT to detect the level splitting and shift that is induced by the external field, we can realize a rapid and robust self-calibration method of measuring the electric field in a frequency range from 0.01 GHz to 1000 GHz. For the MW electric field (frequency range > 1 GHz), the MW field causes the Rydberg states to split, known as an Autler-Townes splitting (A-T) effect when the applied microwave can resonate with adjacent Rydberg states. The MW coupled A-T splitting is proportional to the applied electric field strength, from which the field strength is measured. Using the EIT window, a high sensitivity of 3 μV·cm^-1·Hz^-1/2 and small electric field of 1 μV/cm are expected to be achieved with a modest setup, and the limitations of the sensitivity are also addressed in the review. For the RF field at frequency < 1 GHz, the RF field modulates the Rydberg level, causing AC Stark shifts and RF modulation sidebands. The RF modulated Rydberg spectra exhibit special structure that includes a series of exact crossings formed with the different-m_j EIT lines, and avoided crossings formed with the fine-structure levels of equal m_j and different J's, which is used to calibrate and measure the RF field amplitude. On the other hand, the dependence of the EIT-line strength on the RF field polarization provides a fast and robust polarization measurement of RF fields based on matching experimental data with a theoretical simulation. The measurements of minimum strengths and sensitivity of RF fields based on Rydberg atoms are one order magnitude below the values obtained by traditional antenna methods. The atom-based field measurement paves the way for determining fields through calibration-free, invariable atomic properties and miniaturization. We also propose its various potential applications in the future.