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Research in Optical Sciences

The security of quantum key distribution using the orbital angular momentum states of light

Eliot Bolduc, Jonathan Leach, Daniel J. Gauthier, Robert W. Boyd

Published Jan 1, 2012• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

High-dimensional entanglement is a key resource for quantum cryptography. We experimentally realise the criterion for secure quantum key distribution when using photons entangled in the orbital angular momentum and angle degrees of freedom.
DOI
10.1364/qim.2012.qw1a.4

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The bandwidth of any communication system, classical or quantum, is limited by the number of orthogonal states in which the information can be encoded. Quantum key distribution systems available commercially rely on the two-dimensional polarisation state of photons. Quantum computation has also been largely designed on the basis of qubits. However, a photon is endowed with other degrees of freedom, such as orbital angular momentum (OAM). OAM is an attractive basis to be used for quantum information because it is discrete and theoretically infinite-dimensional. This promises a higher information capacity per photon which can lead to more complex quantum computation protocols and more security and robustness for quantum cryptography. Entanglement of OAM naturally arises from spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). However, any practical experiment utilising the innately high-dimensional entanglement of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) state space of photons is subject to the modal capacity of the detection system. Only a finite subset of this space is accessible experimentally. Given such a constraint, we show that the number of measured, entangled OAM modes in photon pairs generated by SPDC can be increased by tuning the phase-matching conditions in the SPDC process. We achieve this by tuning the orientation angle of the nonlinear crystal generating the entangled photons.