MEMS Vapor Cells-based Rydberg-atom Electrometry Toward Miniaturization and High Sensitivity

Abstract

Rydberg-atom electrometry, as an emerging cutting-edge technology, features high sensitivity, broad bandwidth, calibration-free operation, and beyond. However, until now the key atomic vapor cells used for confining electric field-sensitive Rydberg atoms nearly made with traditional glass-blown techniques, hindering the miniaturization, integration, and batch manufacturing. Here, we present the wafer-level MEMS atomic vapor cells with glass-silicon-glass sandwiched structure that are batch-manufactured for both frequency stability and electric field measurement. We use specially customized ultra-thick silicon wafers with a resistivity exceeding 10,000 cm, three orders of magnitude higher than that of typical silicon, and a thickness of 6 mm, providing a 4-fold improvement in optical interrogation length. With the as-developed MEMS atomic vapor cell, we configured a high-sensitivity Rydberg-atom electrometry with the minimal detectable microwave field to be 2.8 mV/cm. This combination of miniaturization and sensitivity represents a significant advance in the state-of-the-art field of Rydberg-atom electrometry, paving the way for chip-scale Rydberg-atom electrometry and potentially opening up new applications in a wider variety of fields.