If a photon interacts with a member of an entangled photon pair via a so-called Bell-state measurement (BSM), its state is teleported over principally arbitrary distances onto the second member of the pair. Starting in 1997, this puzzling prediction of quantum mechanics has been demonstrated many times; however, with one very recent exception, only the photon that received the teleported state, if any, travelled far while the photons partaking in the BSM were always measured closely to where they were created. Here, using the Calgary fibre network, we report quantum teleportation from a telecommunication-wavelength photon, interacting with another telecommunication photon after both have travelled over several kilometres in bee-line, onto a photon at 795~nm wavelength. This improves the distance over which teleportation takes place from 818~m to 6.2~km. Our demonstration establishes an important requirement for quantum repeater-based communications and constitutes a milestone on the path to a global quantum Internet

We assess the overall performance of our quantum key distribution (QKD) system implementing the measurement-device-independent (MDI) protocol using components with varying capabilities such as different single-photon detectors and qubit preparation hardware. We experimentally show that superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors allow QKD over a channel featuring 60 dB loss, and QKD with more than 600 bits of secret key per second (not considering finite key effects) over a 16 dB loss channel. This corresponds to 300 and 80 km of standard telecommunication fiber, respectively. We also demonstrate that the integration of our QKD system into FPGAbased hardware (instead of state-of-the-art arbitrary waveform generators) does not impact on its performance. Our investigation allows us to acquire an improved understanding of the trade-offs between complexity, cost and system performance, which is required for future customization of MDI-QKD. Given that our system can be operated outside the laboratory over deployed fiber, we conclude that MDI-QKD is a promising approach to information-theoretic secure key distribution.

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Random-number generation is an enabling technology for fields as varied as Monte Carlo simulations and quantum information science, particularly secure quantum key distribution. Here, we propose and demonstrate an approach to random-number generation that satisfies the specific requirements for quantum key distribution. In our scheme, vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field inside a laser cavity are sampled in a discrete manner in time and amplified by injecting current pulses into the laser. Random numbers can be obtained by interfering the laser pulses with another independent laser operating at the same frequency. Using only off-the-shelf optoelectronics and fiber-optic components at a 1.5-μm wavelength, we experimentally demonstrate the generation of high-quality random bits at a rate of up to 1.5 GHz. Our results show the potential of the new scheme for practical information-processing applications. KEYWORDSoptical interferometry, phase noise, quantum cryptography, random-number generation Quantum Engineering. 2019;1:e8.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/que2

Abstract-We experimentally realize a measurement-deviceindependent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) system based on cost-effective and commercially available hardware such as distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) that enable time-bin qubit preparation and timetagging, and active feedback systems that allow for compensation of time-varying properties of photons after transmission through deployed fibre. We examine the performance of our system, and conclude that its design does not compromise performance. Our demonstration paves the way for MDI-QKD-based quantum networks in star-type topology that extend over more than 100 km distance.

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We report a plug-and-play continuous variable quantum key distribution system (CV-QKD) with Gaussian modulated quadratures and a true local oscillator. The proposed configuration avoids the need for frequency locking two narrow line-width lasers. To minimize Rayleigh back-scattering, we utilize two independent fiber strands for the distribution of the laser and the transmission of the quantum signals. We further demonstrate the quantum-classical co-existing capability of our system by injecting high-power classical light in both fibers. A secret key rate up to 0.88 Mb/s is obtained by using two fiber links of 13 km and up to 0.3 Mb/s when adding 4 mW of classical light in the optical fiber used for transmitting the quantum signal. The reported performance indicates that the proposed QKD scheme has the potential to become an effective low-cost solution for metropolitan optical networks.

Abstract:We experimentally demonstrate a high-efficiency Bell state measurement for time-bin qubits that employs two superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with short dead-times, allowing projections onto two Bell states, |ψ − and |ψ + . Compared to previous implementations for time-bin qubits, this yields an increase in the efficiency of Bell state analysis by a factor of thirty.