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2 February 2016 Adaptive spatial filtering of daytime sky noise in a satellite quantum key distribution downlink receiver
Mark T. Gruneisen, Brett A. Sickmiller, Michael B. Flanagan, James P. Black, Kurt E. Stoltenberg, Alexander W. Duchane
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Optical Engineering, Vol. 55, Issue 2, 026104 (February 2016). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.55.2.026104
Abstract
Spatial filtering is an important technique for reducing sky background noise in a satellite quantum key distribution downlink receiver. Atmospheric turbulence limits the extent to which spatial filtering can reduce sky noise without introducing signal losses. Using atmospheric propagation and compensation simulations, the potential benefit of adaptive optics (AO) to secure key generation (SKG) is quantified. Simulations are performed assuming optical propagation from a low-Earth-orbit satellite to a terrestrial receiver that includes AO. Higher-order AO correction is modeled assuming a Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor and a continuous-face-sheet deformable mirror. The effects of atmospheric turbulence, tracking, and higher-order AO on the photon capture efficiency are simulated using statistical representations of turbulence and a time-domain wave-optics hardware emulator. SKG rates are calculated for a decoy-state protocol as a function of the receiver field of view for various strengths of turbulence, sky radiances, and pointing angles. The results show that at fields of view smaller than those discussed by others, AO technologies can enhance SKG rates in daylight and enable SKG where it would otherwise be prohibited as a consequence of background optical noise and signal loss due to propagation and turbulence effects.
CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
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Mark T. Gruneisen, Brett A. Sickmiller, Michael B. Flanagan, James P. Black, Kurt E. Stoltenberg, and Alexander W. Duchane "Adaptive spatial filtering of daytime sky noise in a satellite quantum key distribution downlink receiver," Optical Engineering 55(2), 026104 (2 February 2016). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.55.2.026104
Published: 2 February 2016
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Cited by 26 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Adaptive optics
Turbulence
Receivers
Quantum key distribution
Satellites
Atmospheric propagation
Wavefronts
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