RALFS – Rydberg Atom Low Frequency Sensing

Microwave and radio-frequency electromagnetic field sensors are key commercial application areas for quantum atomic technology. These unique sensors use atoms excited into "Rydberg states" to unlock capabilities not available through other approaches. Rydberg states are highly excited electronic states of an atom where one outer electron is kicked into a very large orbit around its parent nucleus. Due to the size of these orbits, atoms in a Rydberg state can be extremely sensitive to electric fields and RF radiation. Over recent decades, successive advances in laser science and atomic physics have made it possible to explore these states in a laboratory setting.

In the coming decade, we anticipate devices built upon these techniques to become widespread as sensitive probes for electro-magnetic radiation across a range of key applications. In this project, we will demonstrate the feasibility of using ultracold atoms in Rydberg states to detect RF radiation in the increasingly used "very-high-frequency" (VHF) and "ultra-high frequency" (UHF) bands. This will pave the way to field-deployed devices that significantly reduce the space, spectral, and polarisation constraints of standard detection systems.