Single photon per bit optical communication between ground stations and low earth orbit satellites will enable the secure global distribution of cryptographic keys. The communications satellite AO-40 contains an experimental infra-red payload consisting of a low power 835 nm laser diode transmitter coupled to a small fixed orientation telescope transmitting 400 baud Manchester encoded data [1]. The received signal levels are of the order of 10 photons/bit for an effective telescope aperture of diameter 100 mm [2]. They therefore offer a means of validating models of low photon number OOK signal propagation and detection in the presence of atmospheric turbulence, an issue relevant to free-space quantum communications. This paper describes the design, testing and implementation of a photon counting receiver for AO-40 signals using a Labview software platform to display received data, error statistics, detection and correction (using cyclic redundancy check code CRCC 32), and clock synchronization [3]. Signals are acquired with a 300 mm f/6.3 Schmidt-Cassegrain tracking telescope coupled by 100 micron multimode fibre to a silicon APD photon counting module. References 1. R. Purvinskis, Use of the fixed orientation optical transmitter on AO-40, Internal Report, Centre for Advanced Telecommunications and Quantum Electronics, University of Canberra, 2001. 2. A. Arora, Oscar 40: A Complete Link Analysis, University of Canberra BE (Hons) Report, November 2001. 3. A. Arora, Optical Modulator and Demodulator for the Oscar-40 Satellite, University of Canberra BE Project Report , November 2001.
The low-cost small aperture commercial optical ground stations (OGSs) will play an important role in the realization of a global scale satellite-to-ground quantum key distribution (QKD) networks. OGSs with < 60 cm diameter telescope and a small mount, can have stringent size and weight limits on the payload that can be accommodated. In order to ensure easy integration with an OGS, we have designed and produced a 40×30×10 cm receiver module which comprises polarization detection optics, fine point and track (PAT) subsystem and coarse wavelength division multiplexing optics for receiving optical signals over the visible, near-infrared and infrared spectrum. The tracking capability of the module to track multiple beams of different wavelength is evaluated in an emulated beam-wander induced free-space link. The receiver module is characterized for transmission loss and polarization extinction ratio (PER) by sending an 844 nm collimated beam to the module in a 3 m free-space link and measuring the power coupled into the four single mode fibers (SMF) for H, V, D and A polarized components. Furthermore, we have used the receiver module in our satellite-to-ground QKD emulator and have measured the secure key that can be generated within different maximum elevation satellite overpasses when the quantum signal is coupled into AR-coated SMF. Such modules can be incorporated into optical ground stations (OGS) to mitigate atmospheric beam-wandering and coarse misalignment while allowing wavelength division multiplexing of multiple visible, near-infrared and infrared beams to enable co-propagation of classical and quantum communication beams for real-time QKD.
Free-space quantum communication with satellites opens a promising avenue for global secure quantum network and large-scale test of quantum foundations. Recently, numerous experimental efforts have been carried out towards this ambitious goal. However, one essential step--transmitting single photons from the satellite to the ground with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at realistic environments--remains experimental challenging. Here, we report a direct experimental demonstration of the satellite-ground transmission of a quasi-single-photon source. In the experiment, single photons (~0.85 photon per pulse) are generated by reflecting weak laser pulses back to earth with a cube-corner retro-reflector on the satellite CHAMP, collected by a 600-mm diameter telescope at the ground station, and finally detected by single-photon counting modules after 400-km free-space link transmission. With the help of high accuracy time synchronization, narrow receiver field-of-view and high-repetition-rate pulses (76 MHz), a SNR of better than 16:1 is obtained, which is sufficient for a secure quantum key distribution. Our experimental results represent an important step towards satellite-ground quantum communication.
Optical quantum communication utilizing satellite platforms has the potential to extend the reach of quantum key distribution (QKD) from terrestrial limits of ∼200 km to global scales. We have developed a thorough numerical simulation using realistic simulated orbits and incorporating the effects of pointing error, diffraction, atmosphere and telescope design, to obtain estimates of the loss and background noise which a satellite-based system would experience. Combining with quantum optics simulations of sources and detection, we determine the length of secure key for QKD, as well as entanglement visibility and achievable distances for fundamental experiments. We analyse the performance of a low Earth orbit satellite for downlink and uplink scenarios of the quantum optical signals. We argue that the advantages of locating the quantum source on the ground justify a greater scientific interest in an uplink as compared to a downlink. An uplink with a ground transmitter of at least 25 cm diameter and a 30 cm receiver telescope on the satellite could be used to successfully perform QKD multiple times per week with either an entangled photon source or with a weak coherent pulse source, as well as perform long-distance Bell tests and quantum teleportation. Our model helps to resolve important design considerations such as operating wavelength, type and specifications of sources and detectors, telescope designs, specific orbits and ground station locations, in view of anticipated overall system performance.
With the growing use of online communications in our modern society, information security is becoming a big concern. Along with that, the progress in quantum computers is posing severe threats to such communications. Once powerful quantum computers are available, most of today's encryption schemes, which are based on computationally hard problems, will be broken within a short period. Researchers are therefore making a great effort to establish quantum-safe encryption schemes. One such scheme is quantum key distribution (QKD), which utilizes the laws of quantum mechanics. These cryptography protocols offer unconditional security to the communication between two distant parties by providing a secure way of sharing encryption keys between them. While over the last few decades QKD has continuously progressed, it is limited to a distance of up to several hundred kilometers using terrestrial quantum links. Satellites are therefore being considered to extend the QKD range for global coverage, although implementations of the satellite-based QKD infrastructure are still in their early stage. There are many aspects of QKD that need further assessment and advancement for establishing long-term satellite-based quantum communication (QC). My thesis works were focused on developing advanced systems for single-photon detectors and quantum sources. Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are the most viable option for satellite-based quantum communications. They must travel to outer space either for receiving quantum-states in the ground-to-satellite QC or for characterizing the quantum-sources in the satellite-to-ground QC. However, while in space, SPADs exhibit damage caused by the space radiation that gradually increases their dark counts. Performing QKD is not possible when the dark counts exceed a specific threshold. Hence, methods of reducing the detectors' dark counts by mitigating the damages would help to extend the SPADs' in-space useful lifetime. Laser annealing is one such effective method, found in lab experiments, to heal the radiation-induced detector damages. We now aim to carry out this method in low Earth orbit (LEO) to verify its in-orbit effectiveness. On that goal, we are building an annealing payload (APL) for a cube satellite (CubeSat) in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC). We, the University of Waterloo team, built one of the two segments of the APL-- a space-qualified detector module containing two Excelitas C30902SH and Excelitas SLiK detectors. Our miniaturized and compact module integrates the facilities required for the detector operation and laser annealing, as well as an active detector temperature control system. The operation of the detector module is highly flexible and software controllable. Our detector module will work together with the control board containing the laser annealing system (built by the UIUC team). Once the satellite has been launched in 2020, the in-orbit experiment will enable us to study the in-space SPAD radiation damage and their healing using the integrated annealing system. During a second project, we designed and built a new simple readout circuit for the negative feedback avalanche diodes (NFADs), which are free-running single-photon detectors at telecom wavelengths. These detectors suffer from strong afterpulsing effects, which limits their overall performances. Therefore, our readout system incorporates features to suppress NFAD afterpulses. We also used this custom readout to characterize two NFADs (from Princeton Lightwave) and assessed the performance of the new electronics. Our analysis showed that even at higher detection efficiencies, a 20
mus hold-off time after each avalanche event is enough to extensively reduce the number of afterpulses and to keep the dark count rate below 100 Hz at 192 K temperature. Both the detectors showed timing jitter of less than 75 ps FWHM at their maximum efficiencies. The best figure of merit is found to be 1.6
times107, which is comparable to that of the high-performing superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. This result demonstrates the suitability of our readout and the NFADs in various quantum optics applications, such as in long-distance quantum key distribution, where the detection rate is usually low. We then performed a blinding attack, which enables an Eavesdropper in QKD to gain information on the key, on these NFADs using bright illumination. These detectors are usually threshold detectors that generate a click when the optical power is above a certain threshold, otherwise they do not click. Blinding attack utilizes detectors' inability to resolve the photon numbers. During the experiment, we sent controlled optical pulses with a high time resolution to deterministically force detection at the detectors. The result demonstrated the NFADs' susceptibility to these attacks, which tells us to include countermeasures into the system to protect the communications. Finally, we built a quantum source to produce 785 nm polarized photons to implement decoy-state BB84 QKD. Our source utilized the sum-frequency generation scheme to generate 785 nm laser pulses. Its modulator system includes an intensity modulator and two-phase modulators in the Mach-Zehnder configuration to prepare polarized quantum states with different intensities. Our source provides a repetition rate of 500 MHz, which was successfully used in an airborne QKD demonstration with a moving receiver up to
10 km distance. To summarize, my research projects are a contribution to the development of advanced devices, particularly single-photon detectors for quantum communications.
This study investigates the design and performance of a transmitter optical system optimized for Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite-based Free-Space Quantum Key Distribution(FS-QKD). The architecture integrates a 120 mm aperture telescope, a beam expander, and an optical-axis alignment module, complemented by a pointing control unit to maintain link stability. Performance was evaluated across 660 nm, 810 nm, and 1,550 nm wavelengths. Link budget analysis for a 10 km channel with a 200 mm receiver aperture demonstrated that a 660 nm beacon laser achieves a diffraction loss of 4.71 dB and a received power of 15.5 dB, with the beam expanding to approximately 440 mm. Notably, the integration of a Fast Steering Mirror(FSM) enhanced the average Signal-to-Noise Ratio(SNR) by nearly ninefold. These results validate the system's efficacy in mitigating pointing errors and optimizing optical coupling for robust inter-satellite quantum communication.
Abstract Satellite-based quantum terminals are a feasible way to extend the reach of quantum communication protocols such as quantum key distribution (QKD) to the global scale. To that end, prior demonstrations have shown QKD transmissions from airborne platforms to receivers on ground, but none have shown QKD transmissions from ground to a moving aircraft, the latter scenario having simplicity and flexibility advantages for a hypothetical satellite. Here, we demonstrate QKD from a ground transmitter to a receiver prototype mounted on an airplane in flight. We have specifically designed our receiver prototype to consist of many components that are compatible with the environment and resource constraints of a satellite. Coupled with our relocatable ground station system, optical links with distances of 3–10 km were maintained and quantum signals transmitted while traversing angular rates similar to those observed of low-Earth-orbit satellites. For some passes of the aircraft over the ground station, links were established within 10 s of position data transmission, and with link times of a few minutes and received quantum bit error rates typically ≈3%–5% , we generated secure keys up to 868 kb in length. By successfully generating secure keys over several different pass configurations, we demonstrate the viability of technology that constitutes a quantum receiver satellite payload and provide a blueprint for future satellite missions to build upon.