Practical quantum cryptography in free space

Author

Buttler, W.T. ; Hughes, R.J. ; Kwiat, Paul G. ; Lamoreaux, S.K. ; Luther, G.G. ; Morgan, G.L. ; Nordholt, J.E. ; Peterson, C.G. ; Simmons, C.M. ; White, A.G.

Author_Institution

Los Alamos Nat. Lab., NM, USA

fYear

1998

fDate

8-8 May 1998

Firstpage

89

Lastpage

90

Abstract

Summary form only given.We demonstrated quantum cryptography, or quantum key distribution (QKD), in free space over an outdoor optical path of /spl sim/950 m under nighttime conditions. The success of free space QKD against a high background depends on the transmission and detection of single photons through an optically thick and turbulent medium. It has been shown that a combination of sub-nanosecond timing, narrow filters, spatial filtering, and adaptive optics can render the difficult detection problem tractable. Further, the nonbirefringent nature of the atmosphere at optical wavelengths allows the transmission of the single photon polarization states used in the free-space QKD protocol.

Keywords

optical communication; quantum cryptography; quantum optics; 950 m; QKD protocol; adaptive optics; free space; nighttime; outdoor optical path; quantum cryptography; quantum key distribution; single photon polarization state; spatial filter; turbulent atmosphere; Cryptography; Optical attenuators; Optical fibers; Optical filters; Optical receivers; Optical transmitters; Physics; Quantum computing; Quantum mechanics; Telecommunications;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Quantum Electronics Conference, 1998. IQEC 98. Technical Digest. Summaries of papers presented at the International

Conference_Location

San Francisco, CA, USA

Print_ISBN

1-55752-541-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IQEC.1998.680185

Filename

680185