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Frontiers in Optics

High-dimensional Quantum Key Distribution with Photonic Orbital Angular Momentum

Mohammad Mirhosseini, Omar S. Magaña‐Loaiza, Malcolm N. O’Sullivan, Brandon Rodenburg, Mehul Malik, Martin P. J. Lavery, Miles J. Padgett, Daniel J. Gauthier, Robert W. Boyd

Published Jan 1, 2014• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate a quantum cryptography system based on photonic orbital angular momentum. The system achieves a channel capacity of 2.1 bits per sifted photon through the use of a 7-dimensional alphabet for encoding information.
DOI
10.1364/fio.2014.fm4e.4

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The development and practical applications of quantum key distribution are limited by the channel capacity and high error rate during long-distance transmission. High-dimensional quantum key distribution protocols solve these problems effectively. In this paper, a high-dimensional quantum key distribution protocol based on polarization-orbit angular momentum is achieved, using a decoy state method to ensure the security of the protocol. The experimental results show that the high-dimensional quantum key distribution protocol improves the encoding efficiency and the upper bound of the quantum bit error rate.
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