Abstract
Fiber-based quantum communication networks are currently limited without quantum repeaters. Satellite-based quantum links have been proposed to extend the network domain. We develop a quantum communication system, suitable for realistic satellite-to-ground communication. With this system, we execute an entanglement-based quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol developed by Bennett, Brassard, and Mermin (BBM92), achieving quantum bit-error rates (QBERs) below 2% in all bases. More importantly, we demonstrate low-QBER execution of a higher-dimensional hyperentanglement-based QKD protocol, using photons simultaneously entangled in polarization and time bin, leading to significantly higher secure key rates, at the cost of increased technical complexity and system size. We show that our protocol is suitable for a space-to-ground link, after incorporating Doppler-shift compensation, and verify its security using a rigorous finite-key analysis. Additionally, we discuss system-engineering considerations relevant to those and other quantum communication protocols and their dependence on what photonic degrees of freedom are utilized.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 044027 |
| Journal | Physical Review Applied |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2022 |
Funding
We thank Michael Wayne and Kristina Meier for discussions regarding the design of the time-bin sorting circuit and Chris Chopp for assistance in prototyping and printed-circuit-board layout of the time-bin sorting circuit. We also thank the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Lincoln Laboratory for the orbital simulation calculations. J.C.C. and P.G.K. acknowledge support from NASA Grants No. NNX13AP35A and No. NNX16AM26G. J.C.C. acknowledges support from a Department of Defense (DoD), Office of Naval Research, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) and from the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER) through the Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems (CEDS) program. C.C.W.L. acknowledges support from National University of Singapore (NUS) Startup Grant No. R-263-000-C78-133/731 and a Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) Fellow Grant No. R-710-000-027-135. This work was partially performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 for the DOE. All authors contributed to the experiment design and wrote the manuscript. J.C.C. carried out all the experiments and data analysis, including upgrading the optical and detection system and constructing the time-bin sorting circuit. C.W.L. carried out the theoretical security analysis and C.W.L and J.C.C. wrote secret-key simulations.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Defense | |
| Office of Naval Research | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | NNX13AP35A, NNX16AM26G |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | DE-AC05-00OR22725 |
| National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate | |
| Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response | |
| National University of Singapore | R-263-000-C78-133/731, R-710-000-027-135 |