Compact Transmitters for Free Space Quantum Communication

Clinton Cahall

Hua Ge, Wenyu Liu

A new practical free space quantum communication system is proposed, it is based on the principle of quantum secure direct communication. Quantum cryptography is a practical method to realize free space optical communication. Different from the existing free space quantum key distribution communication system, the free space quantum secure direct communication is deterministic and the system is more simple. In this paper, a new structure of four transmitting channels is prensented, this structure could increase the security and capacity of system. The setup of transmitter and receiver of each transmitting channel is discussed in detail, and the communication process is analyzed. The result shows that this free space quantum system could be realized and can work over long distance.

Marco Avesani, Costantino Agnesi, Andrea Stanco +2 more

Polarization-encoded free-space quantum communication requires a quantum state source featuring fast modulation, long-term stability, and a low intrinsic error rate. Here we present a polarization encoder that, contrary to previous solutions, generates predetermined polarization states with a fixed reference frame in free-space. The proposed device does not require calibration either at the transmitter or at the receiver and achieves long-term stability. A proof-of-concept experiment is also reported, demonstrating a quantum bit error rate lower than 0.2% for several hours without any active recalibration.

Samuele Altilia

Siyu Song, Chuan Xi Wang

Zhang Guangyu, Yang Zhe, Zhang Chenglong +2 more

In polarization-encoded free-space quantum communications, a transmitter on a satellite and a receiver in a ground station each have a respective polarization zero direction, by which they encode and decode every polarization quantum bit required for a quantum communication protocol. In order to complete the protocol, the ground-based receiver needs to track and compensate for the polarization zero direction of the satellite-based transmitter. Expressions satisfied by amplitudes of the s-polarization component and the p-polarization component are derived based on a two-mirror model, and a condition satisfied by the reflection coefficients of the two mirrors is given. A polarization tracking principle is analyzed for satellite-to-ground quantum communications, and quantum key encoding and decoding principles based on polarization tracking are given. A half-wave-plate-based dynamic polarization-basis compensation scheme is proposed in this paper, and this scheme is proved to be suitable for satellite-to-ground and intersatellite quantum communications.