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Electrically small Rydberg sensor for three-dimensional determination of radio-frequency k-vectors

Peter K. Elgee*, Kevin C. Cox, Joshua C. Hill, Paul D. Kunz, and David H. Meyer

  • *Contact author: peter.k.elgee.ctr@army.mil
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Phys. Rev. Applied 23, 064022 – Published 9 June, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pthj-gy98

Abstract

We present an electrically small Rydberg atom electric field sensor with the ability to extract the three-dimensional k-vector of an elliptically polarized radio-frequency field. In most mediums, the k-vector (or wave vector) provides the direction of propagation of an electromagnetic wave. Our method uses a field vector measurement at a single point in space and is thus compatible with a sensor volume that is arbitrarily small compared with the carrier wavelength. We measure the k-vector of a circularly polarized signal field with average absolute errors in the polar and azimuthal angles of 33 and 43 mrad, respectively, and statistical noise of 1.3 and 1.5 mrad/Hz, respectively. Additionally, we characterize the performance of the sensor as a function of the ellipticity of the input field and the size of the sensing region. We find that the sensor works over a broad range of ellipticities, and validate that an electrically small sensing region is optimal.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 23, 064022– Published 9 June, 2025
  • Received 6 March 2025
  • Revised 7 May 2025
  • Accepted 15 May 2025
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