Quantum radio receiver uses laser light and atomic resonance to detect microwaves

Researchers at the University of Warsaw's Faculty of Physics and the Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies (QOT) have created a new class of all-optical radio receivers that operate using the quantum properties of Rydberg atoms. Powered entirely by laser light, the system eliminates traditional metal antennas and offers self-calibrating, ultra-sensitive detection of radio signals.

The breakthrough, described in Nature Communications, represents a major advance in quantum sensor technology. The team - including Sebastian Borowka, Mateusz Mazelanik, Wojciech Wasilewski, and Michal Parniak - demonstrated that by exciting rubidium atoms into Rydberg states using precision-tuned lasers, radio waves could be detected through shifts in the atoms' emission of infrared light. The phase and ampli