Chromatic dispersion is one of the main limitations to the security of quantum communication protocols that rely on the transmission of single photons in single mode fibers. This phenomenon forces the trusted parties to define longer detection windows to avoid losing signal photons and increases the amount of detection noise that is being registered. In this work, we analyze the effects of chromatic dispersion on a photon pair generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion and propagating in standard telecommunication fibers. We also present the possibility of reducing the detection noise by manipulating the spectral correlation of the pair. As an example, we show that our results can be used to increase the maximal security distance of a discrete-variable quantum key distribution scheme in which the photon source is located between the legitimate participants of the protocol.
Chromatic dispersion is one of the main limitations to the security of quantum communication protocols that rely on the transmission of single photons in single mode fibers. This phenomenon forces the trusted parties to define longer detection windows to avoid losing signal photons and increases the amount of detection noise that is being registered. In this work, we analyze the effects of chromatic dispersion on a photon pair generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion and propagating in standard telecommunication fibers. We also present the possibility of reducing the detection noise by manipulating the spectral correlation of the pair. As an example, we show that our results can be used to increase the maximal security distance of a discrete-variable quantum key distribution scheme in which the photon source is located between the legitimate participants of the protocol.
Single-photon sources are crucial components for the implementation of quantum communication protocols. However, photons emitted by some of the most popular types of realistic sources are spectrally broadband. Due to this drawback, the signal emitted from such sources is typically affected by the effect of temporal broadening during its propagation through telecommunication fibers which exhibit chromatic dispersion. Such problem can be observed e.g. when using sources based on the process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). In the case of long-distance quantum communication temporal broadening can significantly limit the efficiency of temporal filtering. It is a popular method, which relies on the reduction of the duration time of the detection window, used for decreasing the number of registered errors. In this work we analyzed the impact of the type of spectral correlation within a pair of photons produced by the SPDC source on the temporal width of those photons during their propagation in dispersive media. We found out that in some situations this width can be decreased by changing the typical negative spectral correlation into positive one or by reducing its strength. This idea can be used to increase the efficiency of the temporal filtering method. Therefore, it can be applied in various implementations of quantum communication protocols. As an example of the application we subsequently analyzed the security of a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme based on single photons. The investigation was performed for the configuration with the source of photons located in the middle between the legitimate participants of a QKD protocol (called typically Alice and Bob). We demonstrated that when the information about the emission time of the photons produced by the SPDC source is not distributed to Alice and Bob, the maximal security distance can be considerably extended by using positively correlated photons, while in the opposite case strongly (no matter positively or negatively) correlated photons are optimal. We also found out that the results of our calculation may be very sensitive to the spectral widths of the photons produced by the SPDC source. In addition, we concluded that in realistic situation Alice and Bob would have to optimize their source over both the spectral widths of the generated photons and the type of spectral correlation in order to maximally extend the security distance. The results of our work are, in particular, important for the QKD systems utilizing commercial telecom fibers populated by strong classical signals. In those systems temporal filtering method can be used to reduce not only the dark counts registered by the detection system, but also the channel noise originating from the process of Raman scattering, which is the main factor limiting their performance.
Let us consider the experimental setup where SPDC source generates photon pairs which are subsequently coupled to single-mode fibers (SMFs). We assume that there are three parties involved: 1) Alice, possessing the photon pair source, detection system and the fiber connecting them, 2) Bob, who monitors the output of the second, long-distance fiber and 3) Eve, who can perform the most general collective attacks in order to acquire information which Alice and Bob wish to transfer. Typically, in fiber-based communication the chromatic dispersion is considered to be an obstacle, limiting the maximal distance at which information carrier can be securely transmitted. This phenomenon forces the trusted parties to define longer detection windows to avoid losing signal photons and increases the amount of detection noise that is being registered. We consider standard BB84 quantum key distribution protocol, based on the SPDC source located in between Alice and Bob. The parameters of standard realistic telecommunication fibers (SMF28e+) are take into account. The source emits photon which apart of being entangled in polarization degree of freedom are entangled in spectral domain. This is the key feature which allows one to reduce detection noise by manipulating the spectral correlation between the produced photons. In this way the maximal security distance can be increased by around 10%.
Implementations of many quantum communication protocols require sources of photon pairs. However, optimization of the properties of these photons for specific applications is an open problem. We theoretically demonstrate the possibility of extending the maximal distance of secure quantum communication when a photon pair source and standard fibers are used in a scenario where Alice and Bob do not share a global time reference. It is done by manipulating the spectral correlation within a photon pair and by optimizing chromatic dispersion in transmission links. Contrary to typical expectations, we show that in some situations the secure communication distance can be increased by introducing some extra dispersion.
Single-photon sources are crucial components for the implementation of quantum communication protocols. However, photons emitted by some of the most popular types of realistic sources are spectrally broadband. Due to this drawback, the signal emitted from such sources is typically affected by the effect of temporal broadening during its propagation through telecommunication fibers which exhibit chromatic dispersion. Such problem can be observed e.g. when using sources based on the process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). In the case of long-distance quantum communication temporal broadening can significantly limit the efficiency of temporal filtering. It is a popular method, which is based on the reduction of the duration time of the detection window, used for decreasing the number of registered errors. In this work we analyzed the impact of the type of spectral correlation within a pair of photons produced by the SPDC source on the temporal width of those photons during their propagation in dispersive media. We found out that in some situations the width can be decreased by changing the typical negative spectral correlation into positive one or by reducing its strength. This idea can be used to increase the efficiency of the temporal filtering method. Therefore it can be applied in various implementations of quantum communication protocols. As an example of the application we subsequently analyzed the security of a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme based on single photons. It was realized in the configuration with the source of photons located in the middle between the legitimate participants of a QKD protocol (called typically Alice and Bob). We demonstrated that when the information about the emission time of the photons produced by the SPDC source is not distributed to Alice and Bob, the maximal security distance can be considerably extended by using positively correlated photons, while in the opposite case strongly (no matter positively or negatively) correlated photons are optimal. We also found out that the results of our calculation may be very sensitive to the spectral widths of the photons produced by the SPDC source. In addition, we concluded that in realistic situation Alice and Bob would have to optimize their source over both the spectral widths of the generated photons and the type of spectral correlation in order to maximally extend the security distance. The results of our work are, in particular, important for the QKD systems utilizing commercial telecom fibers populated by strong classical signals. In those systems temporal filtering method can be used to reduce not only the dark counts registered by the detection system, but also the channel noise originating from the process of Raman scattering, which is the main factor limiting their performance.
Sources of photon pairs based on the spontaneous parametric down-conversion process are commonly used for long-distance quantum communication and quantum information processing. The key feature for improving the range of transmission is engineering their spectral properties. Our analysis shows the way for full control of spectral correlation within a fiber-coupled photon pair. The result of extensive numerical simulations allows us to specify the settings for the generation of pairs featuring positive-energy correlation, which can potentially improve the signal-to-noise ratio in practical implementation of quantum communication protocols. We analytically and numerically analyze the characteristics of a source based on a $\ensuremath{\beta}$-barium borate crystal cut for type-II phase matching at the degenerated frequencies $755\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm} \ensuremath{\rightarrow}1550\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}+1550\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}$. The presented framework is general and can be applied to other crystals.
We theoretically investigate the problem of finding optimal characteristics of photon pairs, produced in the spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) process, for fiber-based quantum communication protocols. By using the accessible setup parameters, the pump pulse duration and the extended phase-matching function width, we minimize the temporal width of SPDC photons within the general scenario. This allows one to perform more effectively the temporal filtering procedure, which aims at reducing the noise acquired by the measurement devices. Moreover, we compare the obtained results with the achievable parameter values for SPDC sources based on [Formula: see text]-Barium Borate crystal. We also investigate the influence of non-zero detection timing jitter. Finally, we apply our optimization strategy to a simple quantum key distribution scheme to show that the full optimization of an SPDC source can potentially extend the maximal security distance by several tens of kilometres, which is around 30% more as compared to previous approaches.