Hyperentangled Time-Bin and Polarization Quantum Key Distribution

Joseph C. Chapman, Charles C.W. Lim, and Paul G. Kwiat

Phys. Rev. Applied 18, 044027 – Published 12 October 2022

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.

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Received 10 December 2021
Revised 1 June 2022
Accepted 9 September 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.18.044027

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Optical quantum information processing Quantum channels Quantum cryptography Quantum entanglement Quantum networks Quantum protocols

Wireless communication networks

Quantum Information, Science & TechnologyCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied PhysicsAtomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Joseph C. Chapman ^1,2,3,*, Charles C.W. Lim ^4,5, and Paul G. Kwiat ^2,3

¹Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
²Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
³Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
⁴Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore
⁵Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore