Quantum key distribution (QKD) is one of the most practical applications in quantum information processing, which can generate information-theoretical secure keys between remote parties. With the help of the wavelength-division multiplexing technique, QKD has been integrated with the classical optical communication networks. The wavelength-division multiplexing can be further improved by the mode-wavelength dual multiplexing technique with few-mode fiber (FMF), which has additional modal isolation and large effective core area of mode, and particularly is practical in fabrication and splicing technology compared with the multi-core fiber. Here, we present for the first time a QKD implementation coexisting with classical optical communication over weakly-coupled FMF using all-fiber mode-selective couplers. The co-propagation of QKD with one 100 Gbps classical data channel at -2.60 dBm launched power is achieved over 86 km FMF with 1.3 kbps real-time secure key generation. Compared with single-mode fiber, the average Raman noise in FMF is reduced by 86% at the same fiber-input power. Our work implements an important approach to the integration between QKD and classical optical communication and previews the compatibility of quantum communications with the next-generation mode division multiplexing networks
Quantum entanglement distribution coexisting with high-rate, broadband classical optical communications over a real-world fiber connecting remote, synchronized nodes
Northwestern University（西北大学）；University of Naples Federico II（那不勒斯费德里科二世大学）；Ciena Corporation（西纳公司）
The forthcoming quantum Internet is poised to allow new applications not possible with the conventional Internet. The ability for both quantum and conventional networking equipment to coexist on the same fiber network would greatly facilitate the deployment and adoption of coming quantum technology. Most quantum networking tasks, like quantum repeaters and the connection of quantum processors, require nodes for multi-qubit quantum measurements (often Bell-State measurements), and their real-world coexistence with the conventional Internet has yet to be shown. Here we field deploy an MDI-QKD sy…
High-rate continuous-variable quantum key distribution coexisting with Tb/s coherent classical transmission in hollow-core fiber
Huazhong University of Science and Technology（华中科技大学）；Yangtze Optica Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (YOFC)（长飞光纤光缆股份有限公司）；Chalmers University of Technology（查尔姆斯理工大学）；University of Florence（佛罗伦萨大学）
We study the interaction of an atom with a quantum guided field in a weakly driven fiber-Bragg-grating (FBG) cavity. We present an effective Hamiltonian and derive the density-matrix equations for the combined atom-cavity system. We calculate the mean photon number, the second-order photon correlation function, and the atomic excited-state population. We show that, due to the confinement of the guided cavity field in the fiber cross-section plane and in the space between the FBG mirrors, the presence of the atom in the FBG cavity can significantly affect the mean photon number and the photon s…
We present a theoretical and experimental study of the generation of photon pairs through the process of spontaneous four wave mixing (SFWM) in a few-mode, birefringent fiber. Under these conditions, multiple SFWM processes are in fact possible, each associated with a different combination of transverse modes for the four waves involved. We show that in the weakly guiding regime, for which the propagation modes may be well approximated by linearly polarized modes, the departure from circular symmetry due to the fiber birefringence translates into conservation rules which retain elements from a…
In this paper we analyze the impact of the spontaneous Raman scattered noise generated from multiple optical classical channels on a single quantum key distribution channel, all within the telecom C-band. We experimentally measure the noise generated from up to 14 continuous lasers with different wavelengths using the dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) standard, in both propagation directions in respect to the QKD channel, over different standard SMF-28 fiber lengths. We then simulate the expected secure key generation rate for a decoy-states-based system as a function of distance u…
Entanglement swapping across a five-node relay in a multiplexed quantum-classical network
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory（费米国家加速器实验室）；Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院物理、数学与天文学部）；Alliance for Quantum Technologies (AQT), California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院量子技术联盟）；Department of Physics, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María（智利弗雷德里科·圣塔玛丽亚理工大学物理系）；John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University（哈佛大学约翰·A·保尔森工程与应用科学学院）
Wave propagation on the surface of cylinders exhibits interferometric self imaging, much like the Talbot effect in the near-field diffraction at periodic gratings. We report the experimental observation of the cylindrical Talbot carpet in weakly-guiding ring-core fibers for classical light fields. We further show that the ring-core fiber acts as a high-order optical beamsplitter for single photons, whose output can be controlled by the relative phase between the input light fields. By also demonstrating high-quality two-photon interference between indistinguishable photons sent into the ring-c…
Using the Bogoliubov transformation in multi-frequency modes to describe the evolution of the non-degenerate signal and idler twin beams, we theoretically investigate the quantum noise properties of the pulse pumped high gain fiber optical parametric amplifiers (FOPA). The results show that the noise figure of the FOPA is generally greater than the 3 dB quantum limit unless the joint spectral function is factorable and the spectrum of the input signal well matches the gain spectrum in the signal band. However, the intensity difference noise of the twin beams, which weakly depends on the joint …
Understanding decoherence in cryogenically-cooled rare-earth-ion doped glass fibers is of fundamental interest and a prerequisite for applications of these material in quantum information applications. Here we study the coherence properties in a weakly doped erbium silica glass fiber motivated by our recent observation of efficient and long-lived Zeeman sublevel storage in this material and by its potential for applications at telecommunication wavelengths. We analyze photon echo decays as well as the potential mechanisms of spectral diffusion that can be caused by coupling with dynamic disord…
Accurate and Effective Model for Coexistence of Classical and Quantum Signals In Optical Fibers
University of L’Aquila（拉奎拉大学）；Eindhoven University of Technology（埃因霍温理工大学）；Nokia Bell Labs（诺基亚贝尔实验室）；Università Degli Studi di Parma（帕尔马大学）；Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学）
We show that strongly correlated photon transport can be observed in waveguides containing optically dense ensembles of emitters. Remarkably, this occurs even for weak coupling efficiencies. Specifically, we compute the photon transport properties through a chirally coupled system of $N$ two-level systems driven by a weak coherent field, where each emitter can also scatter photons out of the waveguide. The photon correlations arise due to an interplay of nonlinearity and coupling to a loss reservoir, which creates a strong effective interaction between transmitted photons. The highly correlate…
Certification of quantum nonlocality plays a central role in practical applications like device-independent quantum cryptography and random number generation protocols. These applications entail the challenging problem of certifying quantum nonlocality, something that is hard to achieve when the target quantum state is weakly entangled, or when the source of errors is high, e.g. when photons propagate through the atmosphere or a long optical fiber. Here, we introduce a technique to find a Bell inequality with the largest possible gap between the quantum prediction and the classical local hidde…
