Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS/MIC)

A novel picoseconds optical pulse source for free-space decoy-state quantum key distribution

Wei Chen, Sheng‐Kai Liao, Yuan Wang, Yang Li, Qi Shen, Cheng-Zhi Peng, Hao Liang

Published Oct 1, 2013• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report an integrated optical pulse source with repetition rate of 100 MHz and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 80 ps. Considering the center wavelength is around 850 nm, this optical pulse source is suitable for the free-space quantum key distribution. Furthermore, the integrated design for optics and electronics make our source a promising weak coherent source for the future ground-satellite quantum communication.

DOI
10.1109/nssmic.2013.6829767

Related papers

100 MHz Amplitude and Polarization Modulated Optical Source for Free-Space Quantum Key Distribution at 850 nm

Marc Jofre, Arnaud Gardelein, Gabriele Anzolin +4 more

We report on an integrated photonic transmitter of up to 100 MHz repetition rate, which emits pulses centered at 850 nm with arbitrary amplitude and polarization. The source is suitable for free space quantum key distribution applications. The whole transmitter, with the optical and electronic components integrated, has reduced size and power consumption. In addition, the optoelectronic components forming the transmitter can be space-qualified, making it suitable for satellite and future space missions.

arXiv:1009.1469•Journal of Lightwave Technology•Jul 19, 2010•34 citations

Study on the Coupling Efficiency between Two Bending Nano-Fiber

Guorui Zhou, Guoying Feng, Hao Yang +1 more

We report on an integrated photonic transmitter of up to 100 MHz repetition rate, which emits pulses centered at 850 nm with arbitrary amplitude and polarization. The source is suitable for free space quantum key distribution applications. The whole transmitter, with the optical and electronic components integrated, has reduced size and power consumption. In addition, the optoelectronic components forming the transmitter can be space-qualified, making it suitable for satellite and future space missions.

Symposium on Photonics and Optoelectronics•Jun 1, 2010•0 citations

Space-bound optical source for satellite-ground decoy-state quantum key distribution

Yang Li, Sheng‐Kai Liao, Xie-Le Chen +11 more

Satellite-ground quantum key distribution has embarked on the stage of engineering implementation, and a global quantum-secured network is imminent in the foreseeable future. As one payload of the quantum-science satellite which will be ready before the end of 2015, we report our recent work of the space-bound decoy-state optical source. Specialized 850 nm laser diodes have been manufactured and the integrated optical source has gotten accomplished based on these LDs. The weak coherent pulses produced by our optical source feature a high clock rate of 100 MHz, intensity stability of 99.5%, high polarization fidelity of 99.7% and phase randomization. A series of space environment tests have been conducted to verify the optical source's performance and the results are satisfactory. The emulated final secure keys are about 120 kbits during one usable pass of the low Earth orbit satellite. This work takes a significant step forward towards satellite-ground QKD and the global quantum-secured network.

Optics Express•Oct 27, 2014•12 citations

Fast optical source for quantum key distribution based on semiconductor optical amplifiers

Marc Jofre, Arnaud Gardelein, Gabriele Anzolin +16 more

A novel integrated optical source capable of emitting faint pulses with different polarization states and with different intensity levels at 100 MHz has been developed. The source relies on a single laser diode followed by four semiconductor optical amplifiers and thin film polarizers, connected through a fiber network. The use of a single laser ensures high level of indistinguishability in time and spectrum of the pulses for the four different polarizations and three different levels of intensity. The applicability of the source is demonstrated in the lab through a free space quantum key distribution experiment which makes use of the decoy state BB84 protocol. We achieved a lower bound secure key rate of the order of 3.64 Mbps and a quantum bit error ratio as low as 1.14×10⁻² while the lower bound secure key rate became 187 bps for an equivalent attenuation of 35 dB. To our knowledge, this is the fastest polarization encoded QKD system which has been reported so far. The performance, reduced size, low power consumption and the fact that the components used can be space qualified make the source particularly suitable for secure satellite communication.

arXiv:1102.3033•Optics Express•Feb 14, 2011•21 citations

Novel High-Speed Polarization Source for Decoy-State BB84 Quantum Key Distribution Over Free Space and Satellite Links

Zhizhong Yan, Evan Meyer-Scott, Jean-Philippe Bourgoin +5 more

To implement the BB84 decoy-state quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol over a lossy ground-satellite quantum uplink requires a source that has high repetition rate of short laser pulses, long term stability, and no phase correlations between pulses. We present a new type of telecom optical polarization and amplitude modulator, based on a balanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration, coupled to a polarization-preserving sum-frequency generation (SFG) optical setup, generating 532 nm photons with modulated polarization and amplitude states. The weak coherent pulses produced by SFG meet the challenging requirements for long range QKD, featuring a high clock rate of 76 MHz, pico-second pulse width, phase randomization, and 98% polarization visibility for all states. Successful QKD has been demonstrated using this apparatus with full system stability up to 160 minutes and channel losses as high 57 dB . We present the design and simulation of the hardware through the Mueller matrix and Stokes vector relations, together with an experimental implementation working in the telecom wavelength band. We show the utility of the complete system by performing high loss QKD simulations, and confirm that our modulator fulfills the expected performance.

arXiv:1211.3194•Journal of Lightwave Technology•Feb 26, 2013•34 citations

Design and Development of Weak Coherent Pulse Source for Quantum Key Distribution System

Adarsh Jain, Parthkumar V. Sakhiya, Rajesh Kumar Bahl

Single photon source is indispensable for realization of photon based quantum communication technologies such as quantum key distribution (QKD). Weak coherent pulse source is a practical, efficient and robust solution to generate stream of single photons, probabilistically. In this paper, a methodology for design and development of weak coherent pulse (WCP) source with high count rate of upto 10 Mcps is proposed and implemented. The generation of optical pulses with narrow pulse width and repetition rate of up to 100 MHz is achieved by developing a miniaturized pulse laser module. The weak coherent pulses are generated by heavily attenuating the laser pulses so as to reach the mean photon no. per pulse, μ, close to 0.1. WCP source performance in terms of mean photon number, second order coherence and photon count rate is also investigated. The measured g(2)[0] of ~0.98 shows that the developed WCP source has a very good quality.

IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Computing and Communication Technologies (CONECCT)•Jul 1, 2020•10 citations
We report an integrated optical pulse source with repetition rate of 100 MHz and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 80 ps. Considering the center wavelength is around 850 nm, this optical pulse source is suitable for the free-space quantum key distribution. Furthermore, the integrated design for optics and electronics make our source a promising weak coherent source for the future ground-satellite quantum communication.
We report on an integrated photonic transmitter of up to 100 MHz repetition rate, which emits pulses centered at 850 nm with arbitrary amplitude and polarization. The source is suitable for free space quantum key distribution applications. The whole transmitter, with the optical and electronic components integrated, has reduced size and power consumption. In addition, the optoelectronic components forming the transmitter can be space-qualified, making it suitable for satellite and future space missions.
We report on an integrated photonic transmitter of up to 100 MHz repetition rate, which emits pulses centered at 850 nm with arbitrary amplitude and polarization. The source is suitable for free space quantum key distribution applications. The whole transmitter, with the optical and electronic components integrated, has reduced size and power consumption. In addition, the optoelectronic components forming the transmitter can be space-qualified, making it suitable for satellite and future space missions.
Satellite-ground quantum key distribution has embarked on the stage of engineering implementation, and a global quantum-secured network is imminent in the foreseeable future. As one payload of the quantum-science satellite which will be ready before the end of 2015, we report our recent work of the space-bound decoy-state optical source. Specialized 850 nm laser diodes have been manufactured and the integrated optical source has gotten accomplished based on these LDs. The weak coherent pulses produced by our optical source feature a high clock rate of 100 MHz, intensity stability of 99.5%, high polarization fidelity of 99.7% and phase randomization. A series of space environment tests have been conducted to verify the optical source's performance and the results are satisfactory. The emulated final secure keys are about 120 kbits during one usable pass of the low Earth orbit satellite. This work takes a significant step forward towards satellite-ground QKD and the global quantum-secured network.
A novel integrated optical source capable of emitting faint pulses with different polarization states and with different intensity levels at 100 MHz has been developed. The source relies on a single laser diode followed by four semiconductor optical amplifiers and thin film polarizers, connected through a fiber network. The use of a single laser ensures high level of indistinguishability in time and spectrum of the pulses for the four different polarizations and three different levels of intensity. The applicability of the source is demonstrated in the lab through a free space quantum key distribution experiment which makes use of the decoy state BB84 protocol. We achieved a lower bound secure key rate of the order of 3.64 Mbps and a quantum bit error ratio as low as 1.14×10⁻² while the lower bound secure key rate became 187 bps for an equivalent attenuation of 35 dB. To our knowledge, this is the fastest polarization encoded QKD system which has been reported so far. The performance, reduced size, low power consumption and the fact that the components used can be space qualified make the source particularly suitable for secure satellite communication.
To implement the BB84 decoy-state quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol over a lossy ground-satellite quantum uplink requires a source that has high repetition rate of short laser pulses, long term stability, and no phase correlations between pulses. We present a new type of telecom optical polarization and amplitude modulator, based on a balanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration, coupled to a polarization-preserving sum-frequency generation (SFG) optical setup, generating 532 nm photons with modulated polarization and amplitude states. The weak coherent pulses produced by SFG meet the challenging requirements for long range QKD, featuring a high clock rate of 76 MHz, pico-second pulse width, phase randomization, and 98% polarization visibility for all states. Successful QKD has been demonstrated using this apparatus with full system stability up to 160 minutes and channel losses as high 57 dB . We present the design and simulation of the hardware through the Mueller matrix and Stokes vector relations, together with an experimental implementation working in the telecom wavelength band. We show the utility of the complete system by performing high loss QKD simulations, and confirm that our modulator fulfills the expected performance.
Single photon source is indispensable for realization of photon based quantum communication technologies such as quantum key distribution (QKD). Weak coherent pulse source is a practical, efficient and robust solution to generate stream of single photons, probabilistically. In this paper, a methodology for design and development of weak coherent pulse (WCP) source with high count rate of upto 10 Mcps is proposed and implemented. The generation of optical pulses with narrow pulse width and repetition rate of up to 100 MHz is achieved by developing a miniaturized pulse laser module. The weak coherent pulses are generated by heavily attenuating the laser pulses so as to reach the mean photon no. per pulse, μ, close to 0.1. WCP source performance in terms of mean photon number, second order coherence and photon count rate is also investigated. The measured g(2)[0] of ~0.98 shows that the developed WCP source has a very good quality.