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ERI: A Portable Wideband Rydberg Atom-Based Quantum Antenna for HF/VHF Communications — NSF Award to South Dakota School of Mines

This project aims to make wireless communications much more efficient and accessible by creating a new kind of antenna. Instead of using traditional metal antennas which are large, heavy, and limited in how small they can be, the project team will use a special quantum technology based on atoms called Rydberg atoms. Th

Award titleERI: A Portable Wideband Rydberg Atom-Based Quantum Antenna for HF/VHF Communications
Award ID2552884
AwardeeSouth Dakota School of Mines and Technology
CityRAPID CITY
StateSD
Amount obligated$200,000
Principal investigatorKai Ren
ProgramERI-Eng. Research Initiation
Start date05/15/2026
AbstractThis project aims to make wireless communications much more efficient and accessible by creating a new kind of antenna. Instead of using traditional metal antennas which are large, heavy, and limited in how small they can be, the project team will use a special quantum technology based on atoms called Rydberg atoms. These quantum antennas can be made much smaller (e.g., about 7 cm compared to 25 meters for conventional outdoor antennas operating in the 3 MHz to 30 MHz band) and are more sensitiv
SourceNSF Awards

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