Photonic cavity architectures for enhanced Rydberg atom-based electrometry: numerical study
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We present a numerical investigation of microfabricated all-glass vapor cell architectures compatible with wafer-level fabrication, in which guided-mode coupling is used to enhance radio-frequency (RF) electric fields for Rydberg atom-based electrometry. Using full-vector finite element modeling (FEM), we analyze electromagnetic field enhancement across a wide frequency range (0.05 GHz to 150 GHz) as a function of polarization, incidence angle, and structural configuration. Two primary vapor cell designs are evaluated: translationally invariant “open” cells and periodically structured “supported” cells composed entirely of low-loss glass, as well as hybrid structures incorporating highly doped silicon. Our simulations reveal that the structured all-glass vapor cells exhibit sharp, angle and polarization-dependent resonant peaks due to guided-mode coupling, resulting in localized RF power enhancements exceeding 8x. In contrast, silicon-based structures demonstrate significant electric field attenuation and suppression of resonant features due to their high dielectric losses. Through k-vector and angle-resolved analyses, we show how cell geometry and material properties critically influence the RF field distribution and coupling efficiency. While previous efforts to improve sensor sensitivity have largely relied on external metamaterial lenses or bulky horn antennas, our findings demonstrate that pronounced RF field enhancement can arise intrinsically from the glass vapor-cell geometry itself. By establishing vapor-cell engineering as a predictive route for sensitivity enhancement, we show that these engineered grating resonances naturally occur at frequencies aligned with standard Rubidium and Cesium Rydberg transitions (e.g., n ≈ 40 for 65 to 70 GHz and n ≈ 30 for 100 to 115 GHz). This provides the quantum sensing community with a readily accessible approach to boost field sensitivities and engineer incident-angle selectivity directly into chip-scale electrometers.
Source: Optics Express
DOI: 10.1364/oe.606120
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,270
OpenAlex ID: W7223679168