Photonic integrated chip enabling orbital angular momentum multiplexing for quantum communication
Zahidy Mujtaba,
Liu Yaoxin,
Cozzolino Daniele,
Ding Yunhong,
Morioka Toshio,
Oxenløwe Leif K.,
Bacco Davide
Affiliations
Zahidy Mujtaba
Center for Silicon Photonics for Optical Communications (SPOC), Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Liu Yaoxin
Center for Silicon Photonics for Optical Communications (SPOC), Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Cozzolino Daniele
Center for Silicon Photonics for Optical Communications (SPOC), Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Ding Yunhong
Center for Silicon Photonics for Optical Communications (SPOC), Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Morioka Toshio
Center for Silicon Photonics for Optical Communications (SPOC), Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Oxenløwe Leif K.
Center for Silicon Photonics for Optical Communications (SPOC), Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Bacco Davide
Center for Silicon Photonics for Optical Communications (SPOC), Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Light carrying orbital angular momentum constitutes an important resource for both classical and quantum information technologies. Its inherently unbounded nature can be exploited to generate high-dimensional quantum states or for channel multiplexing in classical and quantum communication in order to significantly boost the data capacity and the secret key rate, respectively. While the big potentials of light owning orbital angular momentum have been widely ascertained, its technological deployment is still limited by the difficulties deriving from the fabrication of integrated and scalable photonic devices able to generate and manipulate it. Here, we present a photonic integrated chip able to excite orbital angular momentum modes in an 800 m long ring-core fiber, allowing us to perform parallel quantum key distribution using two and three different modes simultaneously. The experiment sets the first steps towards quantum orbital angular momentum division multiplexing enabled by a compact and light-weight silicon chip, and further pushes the development of integrated scalable devices supporting orbital angular momentum modes.
