Rydberg Atomic Receiver: Next Frontier of Wireless Communications

Speaker:  Kaibin Huang, Professor of The University of Hong Kong

Time:       10:30, Aug. 11^th

Location: 1A-200, SIST

Host:      Prof. Dingzhu Wen

Abstract:

The advancement of Rydberg atoms in quantum sensing technology is driving a paradigm shift from classical receivers to Rydberg atomic receivers (RAREs). RAREs utilize the electron transition phenomenon of highly-excited atoms to interact with electromagnetic (EM) waves, thereby enabling the detection of wireless signals. Operating in the quantum regime, such new receivers have the potential to breakthrough the sensitivity limit of classical receivers, sparking a revolution in wireless communications. In this talk, I will first introduce the fundamentals of RAREs, covering their definition and properties, the interaction of Rydberg atoms with EM waves, as well as the electromagnetically-induced-transparency based quantum measurement. Then, the pros and cons of RAREs compared to classical receivers will be discussed. The second part of this talk will present our latest progress in RARE aided multi-antenna communications, ranging from transmission model, signal detection, to channel capacity.  The talk will be concluded with some promising future directions on integration of RARE into modern wireless communication systems.

Bio:

Kaibin Huang received the B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees from the National University of Singapore and the Ph.D. degree from The University of Texas at Austin, all in electrical engineering. He is the Philip K H Wong Wilson K L Wong Professor in Electrical Engineering and the Department Head at the Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong. His work was recognized with seven Best Paper awards from the IEEE Communication Society. He is a member of the Engineering Panel of Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) and a RGC Research Fellow (2021 Class). He has served on the editorial boards of five major journals in the area of wireless communications and co-edited ten journal special issues. He has been active in organizing international conferences such as the 2014, 2017, and 2023 editions of IEEE Globecom, a flagship conference in communication society. He has been named as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate in the last six years (2019-2024) and an AI 2000 Most Influential Scholar (Top 30 in Internet of Things) in 2023-2024. He was an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and the U.S. National Academy of Inventors.