QUAntum teraheRTZ Sensor using rydberg atoms

该项目将开发一种使用里德堡原子的新型太赫兹(THz)探测器，它将是紧凑、廉价、室温的，并具有高灵敏度，可能低至单光子水平。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。为此，将建立一个“概念验证”原型，并对其进行表征。里德堡原子是高度激发的原子，其一个或多个电子处于量子态，其能级结构类似于氢原子。处于里德堡态的原子具有对电磁场的强烈响应，特别是对微波和太赫兹频率(0.01-10太赫兹或30-30000微米)的场的响应，实际上起到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，并为无损检测和质量控制方面的工业应用提供平台。

The project will develop a novel terahertz (THz) detector using Rydberg atoms, which will be compact, inexpensive, room-temperature, and have high sensitivity, potentially down to single photon level. It will exploit recent breakthroughs in manipulating and interrogating atoms in Rydberg quantum states. To this aim, a "proof of concept" prototype will be built and characterised. Rydberg atoms are highly excited atoms that have one or more electrons in quantum states whose energy-level structure is similar to that of the hydrogen atom. Atoms in Rydberg states are characterised by strong response to electromagnetic fields, in particular to fields at microwave and terahertz frequencies (0.01-10 THz or 30-30000 micrometers), 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 in nondestructive testing and quality control.