Microwave Electrometry with Quantum-Limited Resolutions in a Rydberg-Atom Array
Microwave (MW) field sensing is foundational to modern technology, yet its evolution, reliant on classical antennas, is constrained by fundamental physical limits on field, temporal, and spatial resolutions. Here, we demonstrate an MW electrometry that simultaneously surpasses these constraints by using individual Rydberg atoms in an optical tweezer array as coherent sensors. This approach achieves a field sensitivity within 13% of the standard quantum limit, a response time that exceeds the Chu limit by more than 11 orders of magnitude, and in-situ near-field mapping with λ/3000 spatial resolution. This work establishes Rydberg-atom arrays as a powerful platform that unites quantum-limited sensitivity, nanosecond-scale response time, and sub-micrometer resolution, opening new avenues in quantum metrology and precision electromagnetic field imaging.
Authors
- De-Sheng Xiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7405-1850)
- Yijia Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5633-7564)
- Peng Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7020-0943)
- Lin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6635-0861)
- Biao Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2322-8019)
- Yaowen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2379-6174)
- Kuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0437-5267)
- Haoxiang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3374-5314)
- Ren Liao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3963-4310)
Institutions
- Quantum Technology Sciences (United States) (US)
- ShangHai JiAi Genetics & IVF Institute (CN)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Wuhan Institute of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2026-02-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/v5nm-xwp5
- Primary Topic
- Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00