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arXiv:1707.02560 · IEEE Globecom Workshops (GC Wkshps)

Multiantenna Quantum Backscatter Communications

Riku Jäntti, Roberto Di Candia, Ruifeng Duan, Kalle Ruttik

Published Dec 1, 2017• 17 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum illumination (QI) is a revolutionary photonic quantum sensing paradigm that enhances the sensitivity of photodetection in noisy and lossy environments. In this paper, we propose to use QI in a quantum backscatter communication (QBC), with the aim of increasing the receiver sensitivity beyond the limits of its classical counterpart. One of the practical challenges in microwave QI is the slow rate at which the entangled microwave modes can be generated. Here, we propose to mitigate this problem by using a multiple-input multiple-output antenna system to synthetically increase the number of efficiently- distinguishable modes in the QBC context.

DOI
10.1109/glocomw.2017.8269081

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Quantum illumination (QI) is a revolutionary photonic quantum sensing paradigm that enhances the sensitivity of photodetection in noisy and lossy environments. In this paper, we propose to use QI in a quantum backscatter communication (QBC), with the aim of increasing the receiver sensitivity beyond the limits of its classical counterpart. One of the practical challenges in microwave QI is the slow rate at which the entangled microwave modes can be generated. Here, we propose to mitigate this problem by using a multiple-input multiple-output antenna system to synthetically increase the number of efficiently- distinguishable modes in the QBC context.
In this paper, we propose a novel quantum backscatter communications (QBC) protocol, inspired by the quantum illumination (QI) concept. In the QBC paradigm, the transmitter generates entangled photon pairs. The signal photon is transmitted and the idler photon is kept at the receiver. The tag antenna communicates by performing the pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), binary phase shift keying (BPSK) or quadratic phase shift keying (QPSK) on the signal impinging at the antenna. Using the sum-frequency-generation receiver, our QBC protocol achieves a 6 dB error exponent gain for PAM and BPSK, and 3 dB gain for QPSK over its classical counterpart. Finally, we discuss the QI-enhanced secure backscatter communication.
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Microwave quantum illumination (QI) represents a paradigm shift in low-power wireless radar detection, leveraging entanglement between signal and idler microwave photons to achieve detection performance exceeding classical limits by up to 6 dB in error exponent, particularly in high-noise environments where traditional coherent radars falter. This comprehensive survey delineates the theoretical foundations and practical protocols of microwave QI, beginning with two-mode squeezed vacuum state generation using Josephson parametric amplifiers in cryogenic setups, which produce highly correlated photon pairs resilient to channel decoherence. Receiver architectures, including optical parametric amplifier-single-photon avalanche diode (OPA-SPADE) systems with sum-frequency generation for joint measurements and digital phase-conjugation for computational correlation recovery, enable efficient extraction of quantum discord even after significant atmospheric loss or low target reflectivity (under 1%).Performance analyses under realistic thermal noise models ( ) and -loss channels confirm sustained quantum advantages via the quantum Chernoff exponent , validated by ray-tracing simulations showing doubled detection range at fixed power and lab experiments at 10 GHz carriers detecting weak reflectors amid 100 K noise. Low-power optimizations such as adaptive entanglement tuning, chirped pulse shaping, and neural network-aided parameter selection yield 50% energy reductions without sacrificing fidelity, making QI viable for battery-limited platforms. Applications encompass short-range automotive/UAV radar for fog-penetrating obstacle avoidance, non-invasive biomedical subsurface imaging with safe radiation levels, covert perimeter security against jamming, and seamless integration into 6G networks via joint communication-sensing waveforms at mm Wave/THz bands. The paper identifies key challenges including multi-target scalability, real-time gigascale processing, and quantum RF interface standardization, proposing hybrid quantum-classical frameworks and entanglement-swapped sensor arrays as pathways to deployment. This work bridges quantum optics with RF engineering, equipping researchers with blueprints for prototyping transformative quantum-enhanced wireless sensing systems.
Quantum sensing offers theoretical advantages over traditional classical alternatives. In the case of active radio- frequency quantum sensors, however, there exist several practical challenges, the most significant of which is the fast and efficient generation of a large number of entangled microwave photons. In a previous paper we proposed a method, called virtual modes, for mitigating this limitation by using a distributed architecture of quantum sensor units to synthetically increase the effective number of distinguishable modes available for target detection. Although this architecture was shown to incur an increase in noise cross-contamination, we showed that judicious sensor configurations can mitigate this effect. In this paper we examine more sophisticated cross-noise statistical models that permit the number and spatial distribution of sensors to be optimized to further reduce the net detection error probability of the proposed approach.
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