IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - April 2020 - 55

Anderson et al.
electric field, E, via the known electric dipole moments of
the RF transitions. In this way, both E and the phase fRF
can be measured. This capability enables the aforementioned applications in antenna characterization, phase-sensitive radar, communications, and sensing.

CONCLUSION
In this article, we have demonstrated the capability of pulsed
RF field detection and measurement with an atomic receiver.
Pulsed RF field detection was performed in the time-domain
with a temporal resolution at the 10 ns level, limited by photodetector bandwidths. The behavior and response times of
the atomic detector to both pulsed RF field detection and
pulsed Rydberg EIT readout without RF have been investigated to isolate the atom-optical interaction from the atomRF interaction under typical EIT operating conditions. In
pulsed Rydberg EIT readout from the atomic vapor, transient
behavior was experimentally observed resulting in a drop in
optical transmission at the onset of the coupler pulse and gain
in optical transmission at the turn-OFF of the coupler pulse
with dynamics on a 10 ns timescale, also limited by photodetector bandwidth. Modeling of these system dynamics has
separately been performed reproducing the observed transient behavior in great detail and affirming the physical existence of the phenomenon, with underlying physics distinct
from the interpretation of collective Rydberg-excitation
polaritons propagating in the medium [28], [29], [30]. Fast
quantum-optical transient dynamics in Rydberg EIT readout
at time-scales on the sub-10-ns level have been studied, and
their implementation in RF field sensing has been proposed
to enable, for example, reception of modulated RF communications signals approaching 100 MHz bandwidth, short RF
pulse detection, and high-frequency RF noise measurements.
In the present work, we also describe a new method for utilizing coherent atomic excitation pathways involving RF and
optical electromagnetic radiation to realize atomic sensors,
measurement and imaging devices for electromagnetic radiation for phase-sensitive detection of RF fields [6] critical to a
wide range of application areas such as antenna near-field
characterizations, radar based on interferometric schemes,
and phase-modulated signal transmission and telecommunications. The atomic RF phase sensor development enables
the realization of atomic sensors, receivers, and measurement
tools capable of RF phase, amplitude, and polarization detection with a single, vapor-cell sensing element. Atomic RF
sensors and receivers based on Rydberg atom-mediated RFto-optical transduction hold promise as a basic technology
platform to realize advanced passive radar and ESM systems.
Implementation of quantum-coherent conversion between
microwave and optical photons in Rydberg gases [34], for
example, may be implemented in the Rydberg atom-based
detector platform to realize coherent RF-to-optical transducers in quantum communications schemes and radar.
APRIL 2020

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by Rydberg Technologies, Inc.,
part of the presented material is based upon work supported
by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) and the Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen
Proving Grounds (ACC-APG) under Contract Number
W911NF-17-C-0007. The views, opinions, and/or findings
expressed are those of the author and should not be interpreted as representing the official views or policies of the
Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.

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IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE

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