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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

On the potential and limits of a quantum detector in the non-linear fiber regime

Matteo Rosati

Published Jan 3, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Non-linear effects are believed to reduce the communication rate in fiber networks, leading to the introduction of the non-linear Shannon (NLS) limit. Here, we analyze, for the first time to our knowledge, the effect of quantum detection techniques in amplified optical fibers affected by non-linearity, by computing their Holevo channel capacity. First, we report that the Holevo capacity under lumped Raman amplification (RA) can surpass the NLS capacity of a coherent-detection system with distributed Raman amplification (DRA) for a moderate number of spans. Then, we observe that the Holevo RA system offers a reduction of amplification power costs at a fixed communication rate, with respect to the DRA coherent-detection system. Our results rely on the ability of a quantum joint-detection receiver (JDR) to better extract information from low-power, low-noise signals, determining the type of amplifier that is best suited to work in conjunction with the JDR.

DOI
10.1364/josab.550759

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This tutorial reviews the Holevo capacity limit as a universal tool to analyze the ultimate transmission rates in a variety of optical communication scenarios, ranging from conventional optically amplified fiber links to free-space communication with power-limited optical signals. The canonical additive white Gaussian noise model is used to describe the propagation of the optical signal. The Holevo limit exceeds substantially the standard Shannon limit when the power spectral density of noise acquired in the course of propagation is small compared to the energy of a single photon at the carrier frequency per unit time-bandwidth area. General results are illustrated with a discussion of efficient communication strategies in the photon-starved regime.
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Laser-light (coherent-state) modulation is sufficient to achieve the ultimate (Holevo) capacity of classical communication over a lossy and noisy optical channel, but requires a receiver that jointly detects long modulated codewords with highly nonlinear quantum operations, which are near-impossible to realize using current technology. We analyze the capacity of the lossy-noisy optical channel when the transmitter uses coherent state modulation but the receiver is restricted to a general quantum-limited Gaussian receiver, i.e., one that may involve arbitrary combinations of Gaussian operations (passive linear optics: beamsplitters and phase-shifters, second order nonlinear process (squeezers), along with homodyne or heterodyne detection measurements) and any amount of classical feedforward within the receiver. Under these assumptions, we show that the Gaussian receiver that attains the maximum mutual information is either homodyne detection, heterodyne detection, or time sharing between the two, depending upon the received power level. In other words, our result shows that to exceed the theoretical limit of conventional coherent optical communications, one has to incorporate non-Gaussian (i.e. higher order nonlinear) operations in the receiver.
Optical fiber transmission systems form the backbone of today's communication networks and will be of high importance for future networks as well. Among the prominent noise effects in optical fiber is phase noise, which is induced by the Kerr effect. This effect limits the data transmission capacity of these networks and incurs high processing load on the receiver. At the same time, quantum information processing techniques offer more efficient solutions but are believed to be inefficient in terms of size, power consumption and resistance to noise. Here we investigate the concept of an all-optical joint detection receiver. We show how it contributes to enabling higher baud-rates for optical transmission systems when used as a pre-processor, even under high levels of noise induced by the Kerr effect.
We consider all-optical networks from a quantum perspective. We show that optimal quantum receivers allow a∼57\sim 57∼57% decrease in energy consumption of all-optical amplifiers. Furthermore, we prove that quantum receivers allow for a logarithmic scaling of the system capacity with the number of pulses per second, while standard Shannon-type systems are limited by the transmit power. Based on our findings we argue for a new approach to optical communication network design, wherein in-line amplifiers are operated at very low gains and in conjunction with high-spectral-bandwidth fiber and a quantum receiver, enhancing data transmission in a practically relevant quantum limit.
Optical fiber transmission systems form the back-bone of today’s communication networks and will be of high importance for future networks as well. Among the prominent noise effects in optical fiber is phase noise, which is induced by the Kerr effect. This effect limits the data transmission capacity of these networks and incurs high processing load on the receiver. At the same time, quantum information processing techniques offer more efficient solutions but are believed to be inefficient in terms of size, power consumption and resistance to noise. Here we investigate the concept of an all-optical joint detection receiver. We show how it contributes to enabling higher baud-rates for optical transmission systems when used as a pre-processor, even under high levels of noise induced by the Kerr effect.