Harnessing Rydberg Atomic Receivers: From Quantum Physics to Wireless Communications

The intrinsic integration of Rydberg atomic receivers into wireless communication systems is proposed, by harnessing the principles of quantum physics in wireless communications. More particularly, we conceive a pair of Rydberg atomic receivers, one incorporates a local oscillator (LO), referred to as an LO-dressed receiver, while the other operates without an LO and is termed an LO-free receiver. The appropriate wireless model is developed for each configuration, elaborating on the receiver's responses to the radio frequency (RF) signal, on the potential noise sources, and on the system performance. Next, we investigate the association distortion effects that might occur, specifically demonstrating the boundaries of linear dynamic regions, which provides critical insights into its practical implementations in wireless systems. Extensive simulation results are provided for characterizing the performance of wireless systems, harnessing this pair of Rydberg atomic receivers. Our results demonstrate that they deliver complementary benefits: LO-free systems excel in proximity operations, while LO-dressed systems are eminently suitable for long-distance sensing at extremely low power levels. More specifically, LO-dressed systems achieve a significant signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain of approximately 44 dB over conventional RF receivers, exhibiting an effective coverage range extension over conventional RF receivers by a factor of 150. Furthermore, LO-dressed systems support higher-order quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) at reduced symbol error rates (SER) compared to conventional RF receivers, hence significantly enhancing wireless communication performance.