Accession Number:

AD1089883

Title:

Large-alphabet Encoding for Higher-rate Quantum Key Distribution

Descriptive Note:

Journal Article - Open Access

Corporate Author:

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Lexington United States

Personal Author(s):

• Lee,Catherine
• Bunandar,Darius
• Zhang,Zheshen
• Steinbrecher,Gregory R.
• Dixon,P. B.
• Wong,Franco N.
• Shapiro,Jeffrey H.
• Hamilton,Scott A.
• Englund,Dirk

Report Date:

2019-06-11

Pagination or Media Count:

11.0

Abstract:

The manipulation of high-dimensional degrees of freedom provides new opportunities for more efficient quantum information processing. It has recently been shown that high-dimensional encoded states can provide significant advantages over binary quantum states in applications of quantum computation and quantum communication. In particular, high-dimensional quantum key distribution enables higher secret-key generation rates under practical limitations of detectors or light sources, as well as greater error tolerance. Here, we demonstrate high-dimensional quantum key distribution capabilities both in the laboratory and over a deployed fiber, using photons encoded in a high-dimensional alphabet to increase the secure information yield per detected photon. By adjusting the alphabet size, it is possible to mitigate the effects of receiver bottlenecks and optimize the secret-key rates for different channel losses. This work presents a strategy for achieving higher secret-key rates in receiver-limited scenarios and marks an important step toward high-dimensional quantum communication in deployed fiber networks.

Descriptors:

• quantum key distribution
• coding
• quantum information
• electro optic modulators
• modulation
• digital data
• angular momentum
• electronics
• information processing
• communication channels

Subject Categories:

• Optics

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE