Practical Free-Space Quantum Key Distribution over 1 km

1998/05/22 by W. T. Buttler, Richard Hughes, R. J. Hughes +8 · 3 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.81.3283

published as Phys.Rev.Lett.81:3283-3286,1998 · 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Physics Review Letters, May 1998

arxiv created 1998/05/22 · openalex publication_date 1998/10/12 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

A working free-space quantum key distribution system has been developed and tested over an outdoor optical path of \ensuremath∼1km at Los Alamos National Laboratory under nighttime conditions. Results show that free-space quantum key distribution can provide secure real-time key distribution between parties who have a need to communicate secretly. Finally, we examine the feasibility of surface to satellite quantum key distribution.

Citations

• Quantum cryptography

Cited by

• Quantum key distribution and quantum authentication based on entangled state
• Optimization approach to entanglement distillation
• Fast and robust approach to long-distance quantum communication with atomic ensembles