Synchronization of quantum communication over an optical classical communication channel

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Berra, Federico, Agnesi, Costantino, Stanco, Andrea, Avesani, Marco, Kuklewski, Michal, Matter, Daniel, Villoresi, Paolo, Vallone, Giuseppe
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Berra, Federico
Agnesi, Costantino
Stanco, Andrea
Avesani, Marco
Kuklewski, Michal
Matter, Daniel
Villoresi, Paolo
Vallone, Giuseppe
author_facet Berra, Federico
Agnesi, Costantino
Stanco, Andrea
Avesani, Marco
Kuklewski, Michal
Matter, Daniel
Villoresi, Paolo
Vallone, Giuseppe
contents Precise synchronization between transmitter and receiver is crucial for quantum communication protocols, such as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), to efficiently correlate the transmitted and received signals and increase the signal-to-noise ratio. In this work, we introduce a synchronization technique that exploits a co-propagating classical optical communication link and test its performance in a free-space QKD system. Previously, existing techniques required additional laser beams or relied on the capability of retrieving the synchronization from the quantum signal itself, though this is not applicable in high channel loss scenarios. On the contrary, our method exploits classical and quantum signals locked to the same master clock, allowing the receiver to synchronize both the classical and quantum communication links by performing a clock-data-recovery routine on the classical signal. In this way, by exploiting the same classical communication already required for post-processing and key generation, no additional hardware is required, and the synchronization can be reconstructed from a high-power signal. Our approach is suitable for both satellite and fiber infrastructures, where a classical and quantum channel can be transmitted through the same link.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2306_17603
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Synchronization of quantum communication over an optical classical communication channel
Berra, Federico
Agnesi, Costantino
Stanco, Andrea
Avesani, Marco
Kuklewski, Michal
Matter, Daniel
Villoresi, Paolo
Vallone, Giuseppe
Quantum Physics
Precise synchronization between transmitter and receiver is crucial for quantum communication protocols, such as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), to efficiently correlate the transmitted and received signals and increase the signal-to-noise ratio. In this work, we introduce a synchronization technique that exploits a co-propagating classical optical communication link and test its performance in a free-space QKD system. Previously, existing techniques required additional laser beams or relied on the capability of retrieving the synchronization from the quantum signal itself, though this is not applicable in high channel loss scenarios. On the contrary, our method exploits classical and quantum signals locked to the same master clock, allowing the receiver to synchronize both the classical and quantum communication links by performing a clock-data-recovery routine on the classical signal. In this way, by exploiting the same classical communication already required for post-processing and key generation, no additional hardware is required, and the synchronization can be reconstructed from a high-power signal. Our approach is suitable for both satellite and fiber infrastructures, where a classical and quantum channel can be transmitted through the same link.
title Synchronization of quantum communication over an optical classical communication channel
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.17603