QUARTZ: QUAntum TeraheRTZ Detector using Rydberg Atoms

该项目将开发一种新型的太赫兹(THz)探测器，该探测器将紧凑、廉价、室温并具有高灵敏度。它将利用最近在操纵和询问里德堡量子态原子方面的突破。工程上的挑战是将技术从实验室微型化并迅速转化为产品。为实现这一目标，将建造一个原型，并对其进行表征，以证明该方法的技术可行性。里德堡原子有一个或多个电子处于类氢量子态，其特点是对电磁场，特别是对太赫兹频率(0.1-10太赫兹或3000-30微米)的场有强烈的响应，实际上起到了太赫兹光学换能器的作用。高灵敏度的太赫兹探测器通常体积庞大，需要低温冷却，这使得它们不适合许多应用，并严重限制了太赫兹技术的应用，特别是在工业环境中。里德堡太赫兹探测器将解决这一问题，为太赫兹传感和成像提供一种变革性的技术，并为工业应用提供平台，如无损检测和质量控制，以及检测化学和生物制剂的安全应用。

The project will develop a novel terahertz (THz) detector which will be compact, inexpensive, room-temperature, and have high sensitivity. It will exploit recent breakthroughs in manipulating and interrogating atoms in Rydberg quantum states. The engineering challenge is to miniaturise and rapidly transition the technology from laboratory to product. To this aim, a prototype will be built and characterised to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the approach. Rydberg atoms have one or more electrons in hydrogen-like quantum states, and are characterised by strong response to electromagnetic fields, in particular to fields at THz frequencies (0.1-10 THz or 3000-30 µm), in effect acting as THz optical transducers. High-sensitivity THz detectors are typically bulky and require cryogenic cooling, making them unsuitable for many applications and severely limiting the uptake of THz technologies, especially in industrial settings. The Rydberg THz detector will address this problem, offering a transformative technology for THz sensing and imaging and providing a platform for industrial applications such as non-destructive testing and quality control, and security applications for the detection of chemical and biological agents.