Rydberg atoms detect clear signals from a handheld radio
Summary
US researchers at NIST demonstrated that sensors using highly excited Rydberg atoms can detect and demodulate audio signals from a standard handheld radio, recovering speech and enabling simultaneous reception of 22 channels. By mixing the radio signal with a near-resonant artificial signal, they create beat frequencies that drive Stark shifts in the Rydberg atoms, allowing demodulation without conventional RF front-end circuitry. This showcases the potential for Rydberg-atom receivers to enable wideband sensing in consumer electronics and other real-world applications.