Coherent Microwave-To-Optical Polarization Conversion via Holographic Quantum Sensing

Information conversion from microwave to optical domains represents a frontier field in communication, imaging, and quantum science. As an essential property of electromagnetic waves, polarization enables higher-dimensional information acquisition and enhanced robustness in complex environments. While established conversion methodologies typically target intensity and phase, coherent microwave-to-optical polarization conversion remains challenging. Here, we propose atom-enabled holographic quantum sensing that can achieve a definite one-to-one mapping of polarization states between microwave and optical fields. A vectorial atomic hologram is demonstrated based on photoinduced circular dichroism and birefringence in a four-level atomic system excited by holographic polarization patterns. It is found that the polarization state of the reconstructed holographic diffracted light field is dependent on that of the incident microwave through the vectorial atomic hologram, which is analyzed in terms of Jones theory and density matrix formalism. Moreover, broadband microwave-to-optical polarization conversion with the preservation of phase information is demonstrated experimentally for 31.467 and 2.925 GHz microwaves. The maximum polarization conversion efficiency is up to 10.42%. Our work could provide an effective strategy for coherent polarization-information transfer across disparate frequency bands.