Tenders Are Invited For Rydberg Atom-Based All-Optical Radio-Frequency Receivers (Artes 4.0 Sl Spl 5H.010) Expro+

Tenders are invited for Rydberg Atom-Based All-Optical Radio-Frequency Receivers (Artes 4.0 Sl Spl 5h.010) Expro+ For missions to Mars and beyond, multi-hop relay satellite networks are needed. There is a trade-off between the minimum number of satellites and the maximum link distance in such networks. Conversely as the maximum radio frequency link distance increases so do the size-weight-and-power (SWAP) and antenna pointing requirements placed on each satellite. Conventional radio frequency receivers need high transmission power, large receiver antennas, and accurate antenna pointing to close the link, which are designed for specific radio frequency bands that cannot be modified during the mission lifetime. Similar problems are experienced in Cubesat links with low transmission powers. Rydberg atom-based receivers use lasers in electromagnetically induced transparency schemes to achieve very high sensitivity to electric fields. They can be operated in a wide range of microwave frequencies from MHz to THz and do not suffer from thermal noise. As such, they are proposed in the literature as viable low-SWAP and high-flexibility alternatives to conventional radio frequency receivers for moderate bit rates that are in the range of 10s of kbps, though 1-Mbps bit rates have also been demonstrated. In this activity, state-of-the-art Rydberg atomic receivers shall be investigated and compared against conventional receivers for deep space radio frequency links and cubesats. Trade-off analyses shall be conducted for slant ranges, transmission power, antenna sizes, required pointing accuracy, achievable bit rates, operating frequency bands, radiation tolerance, resistance against electromagnetic pulses, and implementation maturity. Gap analyses shall be conducted to identify technologies that need to be developed to further the technology readiness levels. The deliverables for this activity shall include technical documentation, mathematical models, numerical computations, and simulators.Read more Tender Link : https://esastar-publication-ext.sso.esa.int/ESATenderActions/filter/open