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Optics Express

Influence of atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of quantum states of light using plane-wave encoding

Robert W. Boyd, Brandon Rodenburg, Mohammad Mirhosseini, Stephen Mark Barnett

Published Sep 2, 2011• 31 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We consider the possibility of performing quantum key distribution (QKD) by encoding information onto individual photons using plane-wave basis states. We compare the results of this calculation to those obtained by earlier workers, who considered encoding using OAM-carrying vortex modes of the field. We find theoretically that plane-wave encoding is less strongly influenced by atmospheric turbulence than is OAM encoding, with potentially important implications for free-space quantum key distribution.

DOI
10.1364/oe.19.018310

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We consider the possibility of performing quantum key distribution (QKD) by encoding information onto individual photons using plane-wave basis states. We compare the results of this calculation to those obtained by earlier workers, who considered encoding using OAM-carrying vortex modes of the field. We find theoretically that plane-wave encoding is less strongly influenced by atmospheric turbulence than is OAM encoding, with potentially important implications for free-space quantum key distribution.
Free-space communication allows one to use spatial mode encoding, which is susceptible to the effects of diffraction and turbulence. Here, we discuss the optimum communication modes of a system while taking such effects into account. We construct a free-space communication system that encodes information onto the plane-wave (PW) modes of light. We study the performance of this system in the presence of atmospheric turbulence, and compare it with previous results for a system employing orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) encoding. We are able to show that the PW basis is the preferred basis set for communication through atmospheric turbulence for a system with a large Fresnel number product. This study has important implications for high-dimensional quantum key distribution systems.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) technology has demonstrated remarkable practicality and sustained developmental trends in the current field of quantum communication. This paper focuses on a novel and potent quantum communication protocol, specifically quantum key distribution utilizing the encoding of information through orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons. OAM states, owing to their distinctive properties, exhibit significant advantages in terms of information capacity and channel robustness. However, the sensitivity of OAM states to atmospheric conditions and challenges arising from wavefront distortions necessitate in-depth investigation. Additionally, the unique structure of OAM beams has raised concerns about geometric losses. By analyzing the impact of atmospheric turbulence and geometric losses on the transmission performance when applying the OAM-QKD protocol in free space, this paper explores variations in system losses under different OAM orders. Simulation results indicated that as the channel distance increases, system losses gradually escalate. Furthermore, with an increase in OAM order, although the system's sensitivity to atmospheric turbulence diminishes, geometric losses exhibit an exponential increase. Addressing this issue, our research suggested that when considering free-space quantum key distribution with OAM encoding, selecting an OAM order of 1 for the beam achieves minimal transmission losses. Therefore, in practical applications, employing OAM beams with <?TeX l=1l = 1l=1 ?> emerges as an effective strategy to optimize the performance of the OAM-QKD protocol in free space.
We describe an experimental implementation of a free-space 11-dimensional communication system using orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes. This system has a maximum measured OAM channel capacity of 2.12 bits/photon. The effects of Kolmogorov thin-phase turbulence on the OAM channel capacity are quantified. We find that increasing the turbulence leads to a degradation of the channel capacity. We are able to mitigate the effects of turbulence by increasing the spacing between detected OAM modes. This study has implications for high-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. We describe the sort of QKD system that could be built using our current technology.