The European Space Agency (ESA) has already commissioned a prototype that will be used for atmospheric research and monitoring transmission frequencies, Polish state news agency PAP has reported.
Michał Parniak-Niedojadło, a researcher at the University of Warsaw's Faculty of Physics and its Center for Optical Quantum Technologies, explained that current radio technology requires multiple sensors to capture signals at different frequencies.
In contrast, he said his team is refining an antenna capable of receiving signals across a vast range – from submillimeter waves to waves hundreds of meters long.
The largest wavelengths detected by the device will be millions of times longer than the smallest ones. This is impossible to achieve with standard antennas which need to be built for specific frequency ranges.
The prototype, commissioned by the ESA for EUR 600,000, is expected to aid in studying atmospheric radiation, including signals reflected from planets.
It will also help ensure that companies and institutions are using only the officially allocated radio frequency bands.
The new antennas could also serve as ultra-precise thermometers, capable of measuring temperatures near absolute zero – something beyond the reach of traditional antenna technologies.
The key to this revolutionary approach lies in quantum physics, specifically Rydberg atoms, named after a 19th-century Swedish physicist who carried out foundational work in identifying and describing them.
These are rubidium atoms whose outer electron, when excited by a laser, can jump to high energy levels, greatly expanding the size of the atom – sometimes to diameters as large as 10 microns, comparable to the width of a human blood cell.
When exposed to electromagnetic fields at specific frequencies, these atoms resonate, allowing scientists to register the signal using photonic detection methods developed in Poland.
By adjusting the laser modulation, the Rydberg atoms can be tuned to receive signals of various frequencies.
These quantum receivers operate at room temperature and are remarkably compact. The core receiver itself is just a few millimeters in size, though it currently requires precision lasers about a meter in length for activation and data processing.
“Our antennas are so small they can detect a wave without disturbing it," Parniak-Niedojadło said. "No one will even notice they are being observed."
He added that the technology is resistant to conventional attacks. Since the receiver contains no electronics, it cannot be destroyed remotely by overloading it with a powerful radio signal.
Beyond space applications, Rydberg antennas could also be of interest to telecommunications companies looking to enhance their ability to detect and amplify weak radio signals.
Future applications may extend to quantum computing, where Rydberg receivers could one day function as network interface devices for quantum computers.
“Quantum computers are still in the future, but quantum sensors are on the verge of widespread use,” Parniak-Niedojadło said.
Quantum effects have long been used in space technology, including in atomic clocks which improve the accuracy of GPS systems.
(rt/gs)
Source: naukawpolsce.pl