Frequency-Stepped Waveform Design for an Array of Quantum Sensors

In this paper, we present a phased array design for Ryderg atom sensors that is suitable for synthetic aperture imaging applications at radio frequencies (RF). To conform to the operating constraints of Rydberg sensors, the transmit waveform is a sequence of frequency combs and each array element is assigned several closely-spaced tones to receive. The proposed array design allows for a wide total bandwidth that yields excellent range resolution performance while restricting the instantaneous bandwidth required at each array element. Simulation results show that directional beams are possible using a pixel-based matched filtering approach.