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Homodyne versus Heterodyne for Quantum Measurement

Hamid Tebyanian

Published Jun 19, 2024• 0 citations
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Abstract

In this paper, we study two well-characterized continuous variable detections, homodyne and heterodyne, and then compare their performance in phase keying or amplitude modulation schemes where indistinguishable states are being measured. We compare their performance in terms of generation rate and amount of extractable information necessary for quantum secure applications.

DOI
10.1145/3665870.3665876

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In this paper, we study two well-characterized continuous variable detections, homodyne and heterodyne, and then compare their performance in phase keying or amplitude modulation schemes where indistinguishable states are being measured. We compare their performance in terms of generation rate and amount of extractable information necessary for quantum secure applications.
Non-Gaussian quantum states are critical resources in photonic quantum information processing, rendering their generation and characterization of increasing importance in quantum optics. In this work, we theoretically and numerically analyze the relative efficiency of homodyne versus heterodyne measurements for reconstructing non-Gaussian states, a major outstanding question in continuous-variable tomography. Combining a Fisher information-based formalism with simulated experiments, we find homodyne tomography to outperform heterodyne measurements for all non-Gaussian states tested, although the separation between the two modalities proves significantly narrower than suggested by the asymptotic Cramer-Rao lower bound. Our results should find use for optimizing measurement strategies in practical continuous-variable quantum systems.
In continuous-variables quantum key distribution with coherent states, the advantage of performing the detection by using standard telecoms components is counterbalanced by the lack of a stable phase reference in homodyne detection due to the complexity of optical phase-locking circuits and to the unavoidable phase noise of lasers, which introduces a degradation on the achievable secure key rate. Pilot-assisted phase-noise estimation and postdetection compensation techniques are used to implement a protocol with coherent states where a local laser is employed and it is not locked to the received signal, but a postdetection phase correction is applied. Here the reduction of the secure key rate determined by the laser phase noise, for both individual and collective attacks, is analytically evaluated and a scheme of pilot-assisted phase estimation proposed, outlining the tradeoff in the system design between phase noise and spectral efficiency. The optimal modulation variance as a function of the phase-noise amount is derived.
Abstract Continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) has many practical advantages including compatibility with current optical communication technology. Implementation using heterodyne measurements is particularly attractive since it eliminates the need for active phase locking of the remote pair of local oscillators, but the full security of CV QKD with discrete modulation was only proved for a protocol using homodyne measurements. Here we propose an all-heterodyne CV-QKD protocol with binary modulation and prove its security against general attacks in the finite-key regime. Although replacing a homodyne measurement with a heterodyne measurement would be naively expected to incur a 3-dB penalty in the rate-distance curve, our proof achieves a key rate with only a 1-dB penalty.
Abstract Homodyne detection is a phase-sensitive measurement technique, essential for the characterization of continuous-variable (CV)-encoded quantum states of light. It is a key component to the implementation of CV quantum-information protocols and benefits from operating, by design, at room temperature. However, performing high-speed quantum information processing remains a major challenge, as conventional homodyne detectors often fail to sustain pulsed operation at high repetition rates due to electronic limitations. We present wideband homodyne detectors operating at near-infrared and telecom wavelengths, with optimized performance at repetition rates up to 150 MHz. We demonstrate their performance by resolving the pulse-by-pulse structure of squeezed states of light at telecom wavelengths while preserving their spectral multimode properties.
Homodyne detection is a phase-sensitive measurement technique, essential for the characterization of continuous-variable (CV)-encoded quantum states of light. It is a key component to the implementation of CV quantum-information protocols and benefits from operating, by design, at room temperature. However, performing high-speed quantum information processing remains a major challenge, as conventional homodyne detectors often fail to sustain pulsed operation at high repetition rates due to electronic limitations. We present wideband homodyne detectors operating at near-infrared (NIR) and telecom wavelengths, with optimized performance at repetition rates up to 150 MHz. We demonstrate their performance by resolving the pulse-by-pulse structure of squeezed states of light at telecom wavelengths while preserving their spectral multimode properties.