Open AccessMultiple spatial modes based QKD over marine free-space optical channels in the presence of atmospheric turbulence
Author(s) -
Xiaole Sun,
Ivan B. Djordjević,
Mark A. Neifeld
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.24.027663
Subject(s) - quantum key distribution , free space optical communication , channel (broadcasting) , optics , physics , turbulence , key (lock) , atmospheric turbulence , mode (computer interface) , free space , quantum channel , computer science , optical communication , telecommunications , meteorology , quantum , quantum information , photon , computer security , quantum mechanics , operating system
We investigate a multiple spatial modes based quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme that employs multiple independent parallel beams through a marine free-space optical channel over open ocean. This approach provides the potential to increase secret key rate (SKR) linearly with the number of channels. To improve the SKR performance, we describe a back-propagation mode (BPM) method to mitigate the atmospheric turbulence effects. Our simulation results indicate that the secret key rate can be improved significantly by employing the proposed BPM-based multi-channel QKD scheme.