6 research outputs found
High-dimensional coherent one-way quantum key distribution
High-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) offers secure communication,
with secure key rates that surpass those achievable by QKD protocols utilizing
two-dimensional encoding. However, existing high-dimensional QKD protocols
require additional experimental resources, such as multiport interferometers
and multiple detectors, thus raising the cost of practical high-dimensional
systems and limiting their use. Here, we present and analyze a novel protocol
for arbitrary-dimensional QKD, that requires only the hardware of a standard
two-dimensional system. We provide security proofs against individual attacks
and coherent attacks, setting an upper and lower bound on the secure key rates.
Then, we test the new high-dimensional protocol in a standard two-dimensional
QKD system over a 40 km fiber link. The new protocol yields a two-fold
enhancement of the secure key rate compared to the standard two-dimensional
coherent one-way protocol, without introducing any hardware modifications to
the system. This work, therefore, holds great potential to enhance the
performance of already deployed time-bin QKD systems through a software update
alone. Furthermore, its applications extend across different encoding schemes
of QKD qudits
Ultrafast rogue wave patterns in fiber lasers
Fiber lasers are convenient for studying extreme and rare events, such as rogue waves, thanks to the lasers’ fast dynamics. Indeed, several types of rogue wave patterns were observed in fiber lasers at different time-scales: single peak, twin peak, and triple peak. We measured the statistics of these ultrafast rogue wave patterns with a time lens and developed a numerical model proving that the patterns of the ultrafast rogue waves were generated by the non-instantaneous relaxation of the saturable absorber together with the polarization mode dispersion of the cavity. Our results indicate that the dynamics of the saturable absorber is directly related to the dynamics of ultrafast extreme events in lasers
Tutorial: How to build and control an all-fiber wavefront modulator using mechanical perturbations
Multimode optical fibers support the dense, low-loss transmission of many spatial modes, making them attractive for technologies such as communications and imaging. However, information propagating through multimode fibers is scrambled, due to modal dispersion and mode mixing. This is usually rectified using wavefront shaping techniques with devices such as spatial light modulators. Recently, we demonstrated an all-fiber system for controlling light propagation inside multimode fibers using mechanical perturbations, called the fiber piano. In this tutorial we explain the design considerations and experimental methods needed to build a fiber piano, and review applications where fiber pianos have been used