Three-dimensional location system based on an L-shaped array of Rydberg atomic receivers

The Rydberg atomic receiver, sensing microwave electric field with high sensitivity and broad bandwidth, possesses the potential to be the staple for precise navigation and remote sensing. In this Letter, a Ku-band three-dimensional location system using an L-shaped array of Rydberg atomic receivers is theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated, and the proof of principle results show excellent consistency between the location-derived and the setting coordinates. The novel L-shaped array, together with the triangulation method, gives both phase difference and angle of arrival, achieving location of the horn for a signal microwave field in three-dimensional space. The concluded validity of this location system in the testing scene remains at approximately 90% with a theoretical maximum location tolerance of 5.7 mm. Furthermore, the estimation of two different spatiotemporal coordinates for the moving target confirms the velocity measurement capability of the system with errors less than 0.5 mm/s. The proposed location system using a Rydberg atomic receiver array is a verification for the most basic element and can be extended through repetition or nesting to a multi-input-multi-output system as well as multi-channel information processing.& COPY; 2023 Optica Publishing Group