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Quantum Sensing and Nano Electronics and Photonics

Free-space communication and remote sensing using mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers down to few-photon light level

Simone Borri, Tecla Gabbrielli, Jacopo Pelini, Luigi Consolino, Davide Mazzotti, Lorenzo Mischi, Nicola Corrias, Giovanni Bianchini, Paolo De Natale, Francesco Cappelli

Published Mar 21, 2025• 3 citations
Publisher
DOI
10.1117/12.3050483

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•Jan 1, 2020•1 citation
In the last years, the Mid Infrared (MIR) spectral region has attracted the attention of many areas of science and technology, opening the way to important applications, such as molecular imaging, remote sensing, free- space communication and environmental monitoring. However, the development of new sources of light, such as quantum cascade laser, was not followed by an adequate improvement in the MIR detection system, able to exceed the current challenges. Here we demonstrate the single-photon counting capability of a new detection system, based on efficient up-converter modules, by proving the correlated nature of twin photons pairs at about 3.1μm, opening the way to the extension of quantum optics experiments in the MIR.
Communication privacy is one of the key requirements for always expanding networks. Furthermore, fibre systems are becoming saturated and many remote areas do not have access to broadband connection because current systems are too difficult or expensive to deploy. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a mid-infrared free-space cryptosystem that is based on chaos synchronization between two quantum cascade lasers. Optimal amplitude conditions to ensure both privacy and acceptable deciphering are described, paving the way towards a wide adoption of quantum cascade lasers for future communication systems.
Free Space Optics (FSO) is a growing technology offering higher bandwidth with fast and cost-effective deployment compared to fiber technology. This work demonstrates private free-space communication with quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). The secret message is encoded into a chaotic waveform so that the information is hard for an eavesdropper to extract [1]. Chaos-based transmissions in FSO are fundamentally restricted by atmospheric phenomena (e.g., turbulence, fog or scattering). Thus, the operating wavelength is a key parameter that has to be chosen wisely to reduce the impact of the environmental parameters. In this context, QCLs are relevant semiconductor lasers because their optical wavelength lies within mid-infrared domains where the atmosphere is highly transparent [2]. The simplest way to generate a chaotic optical carrier from a QCL is to feed back part of its emitted light into the device after a certain time delay [3], beyond which chaos synchronization between the drive and the response QCLs occurs.