Born in October 1991, Dr. Li Wei is currently an Associate Researcher and faculty member at the School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics).
He earned his B.E. from Beihang University in 2013. In the same year, he was granted direct admission to a combined Master’s-Ph.D. program under an exemption recommendation. He completed his Ph.D. at Beihang University in 2021, receiving honors such as the Outstanding Graduate and Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards. From 2017 to 2020, he conducted joint Ph.D. training at the Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz (JGU Mainz), Germany, supported by the China Scholarship Council.
In 2021, he began his postdoctoral research at Beihang University, where he was successively selected for the “Beihang Outstanding Hundred Talents” Postdoctoral Program and the “Distinguished Faculty” Postdoctoral Program. He joined the university as a faculty member in 2024.
His research focuses on cold-atom quantum information and quantum precision measurement. In quantum information, his interests center on light-atom interactions in hollow-core optical waveguides. Utilizing hollow-core fiber and optical conveyor belt techniques, he experimentally demonstrated the controlled transport of “stored light” on a macroscopic scale for the first time—a foundational achievement for novel quantum devices such as racetrack-type quantum memories (Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 150501). In quantum precision measurement, he explores cold-atom interferometry based on hollow-core waveguides and its applications in high-precision inertial sensing (Light Sci. Appl., Opt. Lett. 507090).
Dr. Li has led several research projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund (awarded in 2024), the Postdoctoral Innovative Talent Support Program (2021), and projects supported by the Inertial Technology Key Laboratory. He has also served as a technical lead in multiple national key research initiatives. His work has been published in leading academic journals such as Physical Review Letters, Light: Science & Applications, and Optics Letters.
Quantum Precision Measurement Based on Cold-Atom inside Hollow-Core Fibers
We investigate light-atom interactions within hollow-core optical fibers and aim to apply this technology to cold-atom inertial measurement instruments with ultra-high precision.
Due to their unique hollow-core structure, hollow-core fibers can simultaneously guide both light and atoms, making them an ideal platform for constructing quasi-one-dimensional, long-distance, and uniform atomic trapping potentials. By adiabatically loading cold atoms into a hollow-core fiber and constructing cold-atom interferometers using Raman or Bragg pulse sequences, ultra-high-precision measurements of gravitational acceleration and inertial acceleration can be achieved. Benefiting from the radial confinement provided by the hollow-core fiber, this type of interferometer theoretically exhibits strong adaptability to dynamic environments and enables vector gravitational measurements, showing great potential to significantly enhance the practical performance of existing cold-atom gravimeters.
Key experimental techniques involved in this research include: laser cooling of atoms, adiabatic atom loading, high-efficiency long-distance coherent guiding of cold atoms, in-fiber cooling and coherent manipulation of atoms, and fiber-based atom detection technologies.
Ultra-High Sensitivity Electric Field Sensing Based on Rydberg atoms in Fiber Microcavities
This research focuses on the development of a highly compact and sensitive electric field sensing platform by integrating Rydberg atom-based electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with fiber-based micro-optical cavities. The system exploits the exceptional electric field responsiveness of Rydberg atoms and the strong spatial confinement of light and atoms in a fiber microcavity, enabling ultra-high-sensitivity, non-perturbative measurement of microwave electric fields. Its miniaturized design allows for high-resolution electric field detection within highly constrained spaces, making it suitable for applications such as arrayed microwave radar and near-field electromagnetic field mapping.
Core technologies involved in this work comprise the design and fabrication of high-finesse fiber microcavities, Rydberg atom preparation and trapping, implementation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) spectroscopy, and detection of microwave-electric-field-induced spectral shifts. Essential experimental skills include laser frequency stabilization, cavity quantum electrodynamics system control, microwave signal generation and modulation, and high-sensitivity optical heterodyne or homodyne detection techniques.
Detection and Processing of Weak Signals.
W. Li, P. Islam, and P. Windpassinger, Controlled Transport of Stored Light, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 150501 (2020).
R. Wang, W. Li, Z. Xia, et al., Optical trapping of mesoscale particles and atoms in hollow-core optical fibers: principle and applications, Light Sci Appl 14, 146 (2025).
R. Han, W. Li*, X. Xu, Y. Song, C. Gao, C. Dai, and N. Song, GHz-scale rapid frequency-hopping laser system for atom interferometry, Opt. Lett. 50, 3197 (2025).
宋一桐, 李玮*, 徐小斌, 高福宇, and 宋凝芳, 反谐振空芯光纤冷原子导引, 仪器仪表学报 44, 129 (2024).
Y. Song, W. Li*,, X. Xu, R. Han, C. Gao, C. Dai, and N. Song, Tightly Trapped Atom Interferometer inside a Hollow-Core Fiber, Photonics 11, 428 (2024).
Y. Song, W. Li*,, X. Xu, R. Han, C. Gao, C. Dai, and N. Song, Suppressing the dephasing of optically trapped atoms inside a hollow-core fiber, Opt. Lett., OL 49, 206 (2024).
W. Li*,, X. Xu, Y. Song, R. Han, C. Gao, C. Dai, and N. Song, Hollow-conical atomic beam from a low-velocity intense source, Opt. Express 31, 43647 (2023).
Y. Zhu, W. Li*,, F. Gao, X. Xu, and N. Song, Small-core hollow-core nested antiresonant nodeless fiber with semi-circular tubes, Opt. Express, OE 30, 20373 (2022).
Y. Zhu, W. Li*,, F. Gao, X. Xu, and N. Song, Hybrid photonic bandgap effect in twisted hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers, Opt. Lett., OL 47, 6161 (2022).
D. Hu, N. Song, F. Gao, W. Li, and X. Xu, Hollow-core mode propagation in an isomeric nested anti-resonant fiber, Opt. Express, OE 29, 28078 (2021).
N. Song, D. Hu, X. Xu, W. Li, X. Lu, and Y. Song, Experimental Investigation of the Influence of the Laser Beam Waist on Cold Atom Guiding Efficiency, Sensors 18, 717 (2018).
N. Song, X. Lu, X. Xu, X. Pan, W. Li, D. Hu, and J. Liu, Measurement of frequency sweep nonlinearity using atomic absorption spectroscopy, Optics Communications 407, 165 (2017).
W. Li, X. Pan, N. Song, X. Xu, and X. Lu, A phase-locked laser system based on double direct modulation technique for atom interferometry, Appl. Phys. B 123, 54 (2017).
N. Song, X. Lu, W. Li, Y. Li, Y. Wang, J. Liu, X. Xu, and X. Pan, Determining optical path difference with a frequency-modulated continuous-wave method, Appl. Opt. 54, 6661 (2015).
