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Scientific Reports (2026) Cite this article
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Abstract
Antenna gain reflects the ability to concentrate input power and radiate electromagnetic waves in a specific direction, and is a key indicator for evaluating antenna performance. In this paper, a high-accuracy Rydberg-atom-assisted gain-transfer measurement method is proposed for Ku-band microwave antenna gain calibration. The microwave electric field (E-field) intensity is precisely measured via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Autler-Townes (AT) splitting effects. Under the same experimental conditions, the microwave intensity distributions of a standard gain antenna (SGA) and the antenna under test (AUT) are systematically compared, enabling gain calibration of the AUT at 12.007 GHz through the proposed method. Furthermore, a Rydberg atom microwave sensor with multi-level transitions (\(nD_{5/2}\) - \((n+1)P_{3/2}\), n=50 \(\sim\) 55), is employed to extend the calibration over a wide frequency range within 12.694 \(\sim\) 17.041 GHz, achieving a measurement uncertainty below 0.38 dB. This work establishes a systematic framework for microwave device calibration, providing both theoretical support and experimental validation for precision metrology of high-performance microwave components.
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This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province, China (202403021221226); National Natural Science Foundation of China (62135008,62405170); Scientific and Technological Innovation Programs of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi (2023L411).
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Wu, L., Li, S., Zhang, J. et al. High-accuracy measurement of Ku-band microwave antenna gain with Rydberg atom quantum sensing. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66480-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66480-7
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