The ELEDIA Research Center is proud to announce the publication of the new paper “A Rydberg Atomic Synthetic-Aperture Radar Imaging System Approaching the Rayleigh Criterion” in Nature Sensors on 22 September 2026.
Y. Yan, X. Y. I. Xu, J. Yuan, W. E. I. Sha, F. Liu, Z. Lan, K. Liu, Z. He, A. Massa, L. Wang, E. Li, L. Xiao, and S. Jia, “A Rydberg atomic synthetic-aperture radar imaging system approaching the Rayleigh criterion,” Nature Sensors, 2026, (DOI:10.1038/s44460-026-00129-w).
The work introduces Omni-SAR, a novel synthetic-aperture radar imaging system in which Rydberg atoms replace conventional antenna receivers, opening new opportunities at the intersection of quantum sensing, electromagnetic information, and microwave imaging.
Among the key advances, the proposed system exploits the near-isotropic and polarization-robust response of Rydberg atoms to expand the accessible k-space, while a single atomic vapor cell enables imaging across the C-, X-, and Ku-bands. The experimental results demonstrate a remarkable 7.8 mm resolution (~0.37λ) at 14.232 GHz, approaching the Rayleigh criterion.
The work was co-led by corresponding authors Prof. Wei E. I. SHA (Zhejiang University / ELEDIA@UniZJU) and Prof. Jinpeng YUAN (Shanxi University), in collaboration with Prof. Andrea MASSA (Director of the ELEDIA Research Center), and colleagues from partner institutions.
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