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New Journal of Physics

Programmable instrumentation and gigahertz signaling for single-photon quantum communication systems

Alan Mink, Joshua C. Bienfang, Robert Carpenter, Lijun Ma, Barry Hershman, Alessandro Restelli, Xiao Hong Tang

Published Apr 30, 2009• 15 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We discuss custom time-tagging instrumentation for high-speed single-photon metrology, focusing particularly on implementations that can tag and process detection events from multiple single-photon detectors with sub-nanosecond timing resolution and at detection rates above 100 MHz. The systems we present view the detector signal as if it were a serial data stream, tagging events according to the bit period in which a rising edge from the detector occurs. We achieve sub-nanosecond resolution with serial data receivers operating up to 10 Gb s −1 . Data processing bottlenecks are avoided with pipelined algorithms and controlled data flow implemented in field-programmable gate arrays.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/11/4/045016

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We discuss custom time-tagging instrumentation for high-speed single-photon metrology, focusing particularly on implementations that can tag and process detection events from multiple single-photon detectors with sub-nanosecond timing resolution and at detection rates above 100 MHz. The systems we present view the detector signal as if it were a serial data stream, tagging events according to the bit period in which a rising edge from the detector occurs. We achieve sub-nanosecond resolution with serial data receivers operating up to 10 Gb s −1 . Data processing bottlenecks are avoided with pipelined algorithms and controlled data flow implemented in field-programmable gate arrays.
Real-time analysis of single-photon coincidence is critical in photonic quantum computing. The large channel number and high counting rate foreseen in such experiments pose a big challenge for the conventional time tagged method and coincidence instruments. Here we propose a real-time time-tagged coincidence method and a data filtering solution, demonstrated by a 32-channel coincidence counting unit that has been implemented successfully on a field-programmable gate array system. The unit provides high counting rates, a tunable coincidence window, and a timing resolution of 390 ps. Beyond that, it is feasible to be scaled up to 104 channels and is thus ideally suited for channel consuming applications such as boson sampling. Based on the versatility and scalability the unit has shown, we believe that it is the turn-key solution for many single-photon coincidence counting applications in photonic quantum computing.
We report a synchronized time tagger based on a field-programmable-gate-array chip for one- or two-dimensional quantum experiments that require precise single-photon detections. The time tagger has a 9.2 ps single-shot root-mean-square precision and is equipped with a 1 GB dynamic memory for data storage. Because the relationship between the control parameter and acquired data is guaranteed by using hardware synchronization, the experiment can be performed much faster than conventional schemes that are based on software synchronization. With this technique, an improvement of up to 61.3% in efficiency is observed in a typical nitrogen-vacancy center quantum experiment. We further show advanced optical features of the center using the detected high-resolution photon-arrival information and provide detailed electrical benchmarking of the device. This technique could be easily extended to other quantum control systems.
ABSTRACT Quantum Cryptography has demonstrated the potential for ultra-secure communications. However, with quantum-channel transmission rates in the MHz range, typical link losses and signal-to-noise ratios have resulted in key-production rates that are impractical for continuous one-time-pad encryption of high-bandwidth communications. We have developed high-speed data handling electronics that support quantum-channel transmission rates up to 1.25 GHz. This system has demonstrated error-corrected and privacy-amplified key rates above 1 Mbps over a free-space link. While the transmission rate is ultimately limited by timi ng jitter in the single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs), we find the timing resolution of silicon SPADs sufficient to operate efficiently with temporal gates as short as 100 ps. We have developed systems to implement such high-resolution gating in our system, and anticipate the attendant reduction in noise to produce significantly higher secret-key bitrates. Keywords: Single-photon detection, quantum key distribution, avalanche photodiode
We propose and demonstrate a high-speed, high-sensitivity photon communication system based on a 16-pixel superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) array. This system integrates high-speed transmission of narrow optical pulses and multi-channel array high-speed signal detection and reception. By incorporating the proposed channel log-likelihood ratio correction and high-speed slot synchronization algorithm, the system's performance is enhanced. Experimental results demonstrate that the system exhibits leading photon sensitivity and high-speed communication performance. It achieves a post-decoding bit error rate (BER) better than 10−7 at an effective information transmission rate of up to 500 Mbps, with an incident sensitivity of 1.78 photons/bit and a detection sensitivity of 0.97 photons/bit. Furthermore, the system is capable of maintaining closed-loop BER performance within a dynamic range of at least 1.8 dB above this incident signal level, highlighting the advanced performance and reliability of the entire system. Additionally, the system supports 10 G/40 G ethernet interfaces, enabling inter-board timestamp data transmission from the time-to-digital converter (TDC) to the FPGA at rates between 300 million and 1.2 billion timestamps per second, indicating potential for rapid real-time hardware implementation. This demonstration system can provide insights for the design of future high-speed real-time photon counting communication systems.
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