Single-atom sensor for low-frequency electric field

Precision measurement of low-frequency electric field (LFEF) signals with frequency from 30 to 300 kHz is crucial for advancing both fundamental science and practical applications owing to their unique frequency regime. For conventional electromagnetic antennas, the long wavelength (i.e., several kilometers) of the LFEF leads to a severe size constraint because efficient radiation becomes challenging to achieve when the antenna size is much smaller than the long wavelength of the LFEF signals, which in turn results in a reduction of measurement sensitivity and compromises antenna's performance. By exploiting the high intrinsic sensitivity of cold trapped ions to weak alternating electric signals via Coulomb interaction, we demonstrate a single-ion phonon laser sensor based on an injection-locked 40Ca+ ion confined in a surface-electrode trap. Combining the beat frequency technique with the injection-locked phonon laser oscillation, we demonstrate a practical and efficient approach for simultaneous extraction of the frequency, phase, and amplitude from a single measurement, without the need for sideband cooling. This approach achieves precision detection for LFEF signals with a sensitivity of 403.8 μV/(m Hz1/2) and a detection limit of 61.5 μV/m. In addition, this approach also shows remarkable robustness against noise. Our study helps realize practical single-atom sensors in the low-frequency regime, opening avenues for applications in subsurface communication, precision metrology, mass spectrometry, and biomedical monitoring.