Quantum Rydberg atom-based RF sensing: a numerical simulation study with Matlab

Abstract

Quantum Rydberg atom-based radio frequency (RF) sensors exploit the exceptional sensitivity of highly excited atomic states to detect electromagnetic fields with very high precision, offering potential advances in telecommunications, radar and microwave radiometer systems, GNSS-Reflectometers, and electromagnetic compatibility testing. This study presents a detailed MATLAB simulation analysis of radio-frequency sensors modeled as a five-level rubidium-87 (Rb-87) system under the influence of RF and optical fields. The simulation leverages the Lindblad master equation to capture the coherent evolution, the spontaneous emission, the collisional dephasing, and the field-induced ionization. For an external RF electric field of E0 = 100 mV/m, a frequency sweep from 10MHz to 10GHz reveals the impact of noise: an ideal case just limited by quantum noise yields a sensitivity of 0.01 µV/m/ v Hz and a SNR of 177dB, while for E0 = 10 mV/m and a realistic noise (-130 dBm/Hz) the sensitivity worsens to 72 - 633 µV/m/ v Hz and a SNR of 72 dB. The study investigates the effects of RF field amplitude, atom density, and environmental parameters such as residual magnetic field and ambient temperature, in the sensitivity and bandwidth of these promising receivers, offering a framework to optimize Rydberg-based sensing technologies for Earth Observation, Communication and Navigation systems.

This work has been sponsored by project “GENESIS: GNSS Environmental and Societal Missions—Subproject UPC”, Grant PID2021-126436OB-C21, sponsored by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ and EU ERDF “A way to do Europe”.

Peer Reviewed

Postprint (published version)