Atomic television created using lasers and clouds of large atoms

To demonstrate that a cloud of atoms can be used as a receiver to pick up video transmissions, researchers have developed an atomic television. Television uses atomic clouds and lasers to carry a video signal that meets the traditional resolution standard. Nuclear-based communication systems are believed to be smaller and can tolerate more noise than conventional electronics. The atoms used in the device are prepared in high-energy Rydberg states, which are unusually sensitive to electromagnetic fields, including radio signals.

Team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), US, ready Gaseous rubidium atoms in Rydberg say in a glass container using two different colored lasers. To receive the signal, a stationary radio signal is applied to a glass container filled with atoms. Here, energy shifts in Rydberg atoms that modify the carrier signal can be detected by the team.

Next, the modulated output is fed to the television after which an analog-to-digital converter converts the signal into a video graphics array format for display. When a live video signal or game is to be displayed, input is sent from a video camera to modulate the original carrier signal. This signal is then fed to a horn antenna which directs transmission to the atoms.

The original signal carrier is used as a reference and the final video output, traced through atoms, is compared to evaluate the system. “We figured out how to stream and receive video through the Rydberg atomic sensor. Now we’re doing video streaming and quantum gaming, streaming video games through atoms. We basically sent signals to video games. and detected with atoms. The output is fed directly into the TV,” said Chris Holloway, project leader and study author.

in studies, published At AVS Quantum Science, the team studied laser beam powers, sizes and detection methods to obtain video in standard definition format by atoms. The size of the laser beam affects the average time that the atoms remain in the laser’s interaction region. Here time is inversely related to the bandwidth of the receiver which means more data is produced using shorter beam and less time.