Calibration of electric fields in low-frequency off-resonant Rydberg receivers

Abstract

We present results on Rydberg atom-based electric field sensing in the range of 1 kHz - 300 MHz, using a three-photon Rydberg excitation scheme and a transverse electromagnetic (TEM) line waveguide to apply low-frequency rf fields to the cell. Measurements of low-frequency screening in quartz and sapphire vapor cells show excellent agreement with a phenomenological model of the effective vapor cell material properties based on an electrical 2-port measurement of the TEM line. We achieve a best noise-equivalent field of 106(4) $\frac{\mu \mathrm{V}}{\mathrm{m}\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}}$ at 300 MHz and characterize noise-equivalent fields in the ultra-low to very-low frequency (ULF-VLF) band.

13 pages, 9 figures