Advanced Laser Technology for Quantum Communications (Tutorial Review)

TL;DR

This tutorial reviews recent laser modulation advancements that enable efficient light sources for quantum communications, especially quantum key distribution, highlighting experimental results and theoretical modeling for practical deployment.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of recent laser technology developments for quantum communication, linking experimental advances with theoretical understanding.

Findings

Demonstrated several QKD protocols with state-of-the-art performance

Reviewed applications and experimental results in quantum laser sources

Provided modeling and simulation tools for quantum light sources

Abstract

Quantum communications is the art of exchanging and manipulating information beyond the capabilities of the conventional technologies using the laws of quantum mechanics. With applications ranging from quantum computing to cryptographic systems with information-theoretic security, there is strong incentive to introduce quantum communications into many areas of the society. However, an important challenge is to develop viable technologies meeting the stringent requirements of low noise and high coherence for quantum state encoding, of high bit rate and low power for the integration with classical communication networks, and of scalable and low-cost production for a practical wide-deployment. This tutorial presents recent advances in laser modulation technologies that have enabled the development of efficient and versatile light sources for quantum communications, with a particular focus on quantum key distribution (QKD). Such approaches have been successfully used to demonstrate several QKD protocols with state-of-the-art performance. The applications and experimental results are reviewed and interpreted in the light of a complete theoretical background, allowing the reader to model and simulate such sources.