Terahertz Wave Detection and Imaging with a Hot Rydberg Vapour

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Introduction

   • Christopher G. Wade

   Pages 1-7

3. Atomic Structure and Atom-Light Interactions

   • Christopher G. Wade

   Pages 9-18

4. Experimental Methods

   • Christopher G. Wade

   Pages 19-26

5. Probing an Excited State Transition Using Quantum Beats

   • Christopher G. Wade

   Pages 27-38

6. Intrinsic Rydberg Optical Bistability

   • Christopher G. Wade

   Pages 39-53

7. Terahertz Electrometry with Rydberg EIT

   • Christopher G. Wade

   Pages 55-63

8. Real-Time Near-Field Terahertz Field Imaging

   • Christopher G. Wade

   Pages 65-76

9. Terahertz-Driven Phase Transition in a Hot Rydberg Vapour

   • Christopher G. Wade

   Pages 77-85

10. Summary and Outlook

    • Christopher G. Wade

    Pages 87-87

11. Back Matter

    Pages 89-91

    PDF

This book details groundbreaking experiments for the sensing and imaging of terahertz-frequency electromagnetic radiation (THz) using Rydberg atoms. The major advances described include the development and implementation of a new technique for THz imaging using atomic fluorescence; the demonstration of a THz-driven phase transition in room-temperature atomic vapour; and a novel method for probing the excited-state dynamics of atoms using quantum beats. The work has formed the basis for several articles published in journals including Nature Photonics and the Physical Review, and has sparked industry interest, becoming the subject of ongoing collaborative research and development. This exceptionally well-written book provides a definitive account of terahertz sensing with Rydberg atoms.

• Terahertz Imaging
• Terahertz Sensing
• Rydberg Atoms
• Rydberg Electrometry
• Quantum Beats
• Intrinsic Optical Bistability
• Non-Equilibrium Phase Transition
• Dynamics of Excited States

• Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom

  Christopher G. Wade

Chris Wade studied Theoretical and Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge, graduating in 2012. In the same year he began his PhD in the Atomic and Molecular Physics group at Durham University, supervised by Dr. Kevin Weatherill and Prof. Charles Adams. He now works as a postdoc in the Ultrafast and Quantum Optics group at the University of Oxford, led by Prof. Ian Walmsley.

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