Modern RF Measurements With Hot Atoms: A Technology Review of Rydberg Atom-Based Radio Frequency Field Sensors

Over a hundred years later, the classic antenna, first invented by Heinrich Hertz, in 1888, [1] , is still the dominant technology used for the measurement of RF fields. Just seven years after its invention, Guglielmo Marconi applied the antenna to long-distance radio communication and, in the process, transformed the global community into one connected civilization [2] . It is clear that the antenna has been a powerful piece of technology. What reason would we have, then, to use anything different?