Voltage and power-frequency electric field measurements with Rydberg-atom interferometry

Abstract

We present a Rydberg-atom interferometry-based technique for voltage measurement between electrodes embedded in an atomic vapor cell, enabling the detection of weak voltages ($<0.1$V) and unambiguous discrimination between positive and negative polarities. This makes up for the shortcomings of measurements based on the Stark effect, which suffer from quadratic field dependence (limiting sensitivity in weak-field regimes) and incapable of distinguishing the electric field direction. Furthermore, this method extends naturally to power-frequency (PF) electric field measurements by exploiting the quasi-static approximation-valid given the PF field's characteristic timescale ($\sim 10^{-2}$s) vastly exceeds the interferometric measurement duration ($\sim 10^{-6}$s). Crucially, our protocol provides instantaneous PF field reconstruction, providing comprehensive information including amplitude, frequency and phase. These advancements have direct implications for traceable voltage measurements and non-invasive characterization of PF fields near high-voltage infrastructure.

5 pages, 4 figures

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