https://doi.org/10.1140/epjqt/s40507-023-00185-y
Research
Modular source for near-infrared quantum communication
1
Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, via Gradenigo 6B, 35131, Padova, Italy
2
Padua Quantum Technologies Research Center, Università degli Studi di Padova, via Gradenigo 6B, 35131, Padova, Italy
3
Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131, Padova, Italy
Received:
21
March
2023
Accepted:
26
June
2023
Published online:
12
July
2023
We present a source of states for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) based on a modular design exploiting the iPOGNAC, a stable, low-error, and calibration-free polarization modulation scheme, for both intensity and polarization encoding. This source is immune to the security vulnerabilities of other state sources such as side channels and some quantum hacking attacks. Remarkably, our intensity modulation scheme allows full tunability of the intensity ratio between the decoy and signal states, and mitigates patterning effects. The source was implemented and tested at the near-infrared optical band around 800 nm, of particular interest for satellite-based QKD. Furthermore, the modularity of the source simplifies its development, testing, and qualification, especially for space missions. For these reasons, our work paves the way for the development of the second generation of QKD satellites that can guarantee excellent performances at higher security levels.
Key words: iPOGNAC / Near-infrared / QKD / Quantum / Quantum comunication / Quantum key distribution / Satellite
© The Author(s) 2023
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
