Abstract: A two-way actively stabilized QKD system that utilizes control signals and quantum signals is disclosed. Because the quantum signals do not traverse the same optical path through the system, signal collisions in the phase modulator are avoided. This allows the system to have a higher transmission rate than a two-way system in which the quantum signals traverse the same optical path. Also, the active stabilization process, which is based on maintaining a fixed relationship between an intensity ratio of interfered control signals, is greatly simplified by having the interferometer loops located all in one QKD station.

Abstract: A method of integrating quantum key distribution (QKD) with Internet protocol security (IPSec) to improve the security of IPSec. Standard IPSec protocols impose limits on the frequency at which keys can be changed. This makes efforts to improve the security of IPSec by employing quantum keys problematic. The method includes employing multiple security associations (SA) in in-bound and outbound SA Tables in a manner that enables a high key flipping rate and that enables combining quantum keys with classical keys generated by Internet Key Exchange (IKE), thereby enabling QKD-based IPSec.

Abstract: A one-way stabilized QKD system (10) that utilizes a control signal (CS) and a quantum signal (QS) that travel the same path through the system from a first QKD station (Alice) to a second QKD station (Bob). The control signal is detected at Bob and used to stabilize Bob's side of the interferometer against phase variations. The system also includes a polarization control stage (200) that controls (e.g., scrambles) the polarization of the photons entering Bob. The combination of the polarization control and the active phase stabilization of the interferometer at Bob's end allows for the stable operation of the interferometer when used as part of a one-way QKD system.

Abstract: The quantum key distribution (QKD) systems (200, 300, 400) of the invention includes first and second QKD stations (Alice and Bob) according to the present invention, wherein either one or both QKD stations include fast optical switches (120, 220, 310, 320). Each fast optical switch is respectively optically coupled to two different round-trip optical paths (OP1 and OP2 at Alice, OP3 and OP4 at Bob) of different length that define respective optical path differences OPDA and OPDB, wherein OPDA=OPDB. By switching the fast optical switches using timed switching signals (S1-S3 at Alice, S4-S6 at Bob) from their corresponding controllers (CA at Alice, CB at Bob), the quantum signals—which can be single-photon or weak-coherent pulses—can be generated from a single optical pulse (112), randomly selectively encoded while traversing the optical paths in Alice and Bob, and then interfered and measured (detected) at Bob.

Abstract: A battery adapter system and night-vision scope using same is disclosed. The system includes a housing having a body portion and a reversible cap adapted to screw on and off of the body portion. The body portion has an interior sized to accommodate the whole of a relatively short and wide 3-volt lithium battery or to partially accommodate the narrower, taller 1.5-volt AA battery. The reversible cap has an open end and an interior, and has outer threads that allow the cap to screw to the body portion in either of two orientations. When using the lithium battery, the cap is screwed onto the body portion in a first orientation that forms a first sealed housing interior that does not include the cap interior. When using the AA battery, the cap is screwed onto the body portion in a second orientation wherein the cap open end is first placed over the portion of the AA battery that protrudes from the body portion. This forms a second sealed housing interior that includes the cap interior.

Abstract: A method (300) of performing photon detector autocalibration in quantum key distribution (QKD) system (200) is disclosed. The method (300) includes a first act (302) of performing a detector gate scan to establish the optimum arrival time of a detector gate pulse (S3) that corresponds with a maximum number of photon counts (NMAX) from a single-photon detector (216) in the QKD system (200). Once the optimal detector gate pulse arrival time is determined, then in an act (306), the detector gate scan is terminated and in an act (308) a detector gate dither process is initiated. The detector gate dither act (308) involves varying the arrival time (T) of the detector gate pulse (S3) around the optimal value of the arrival time established during the detector gate scan process. The detector gate dither provides minor adjustments to the arrival time to ensure that the detector (216) produces maximum number of photon counts (NMAX).

Abstract: The battery adapter system includes a housing having a body portion and a reversible cap adapted to screw on and off of the body portion. The body portion has an interior sized to accommodate the whole of a relatively short and wide 3-volt lithium battery or to partially accommodate the narrower, taller 1.5-volt AA battery. The reversible cap has an open end and an interior, and has outer threads that allow the cap to screw to the body portion in either of two orientations. When using the smaller and wider lithium battery, the cap is screwed onto the body portion in a first orientation that forms a first sealed housing interior that does not include the cap interior. When using the taller and thinner AA battery, the cap is screwed onto the body portion in a second orientation wherein the cap open end is first placed over the portion of the AA battery that protrudes from the body portion. This forms a second sealed housing interior that includes the cap interior.

Abstract: Self-healing cable apparatus and methods disclosed. The self-healing cable has a central core surrounded by an adaptive cover that can extend over the entire length of the self-healing cable or just one or more portions of the self-healing cable. The adaptive cover includes an axially and/or radially compressible-expandable (C/E) foam layer that maintains its properties over a wide range of environmental conditions. A tape layer surrounds the C/E layer and is applied so that it surrounds and axially and/or radially compresses the C/E layer. When the self-healing cable is subjected to a damaging force that causes a breach in the outer jacket and the tape layer, the corresponding localized axially and/or radially compressed portion of the C/E foam layer expands into the breach to form a corresponding localized self-healed region. The self-healing cable is manufacturable with present-day commercial self-healing cable manufacturing tools.

Abstract: A compact, tunable, high-efficiency entangled photon source system that utilizes first and second periodically poled waveguides rather than bulk media in order to decrease the required pump power by up to several orders of magnitude. The first and second waveguides are arranged in respective arms of an interferometer. Each waveguide has partially reflecting ends, and are each placed on the Z-face of respective periodically poled KTP or LiNBO3 crystals to form respective first and second Fabry-Perot cavities. All waves (pump, idler, and signal) are co-polarized along the z-axis of the crystals. One of the waveguides is followed by a polarization rotator (shown as a half-wave-plate in the Figures) rotating the idler and signal wave polarization by 90 degrees. The outputs from two interferometer arms are combined by a polarization beam combiner and then split by a wavelength multiplexer into two spatially separated time-bin and polarization entangled beams.

Abstract: Systems and methods for transmitting quantum and classical signals over an optical network are disclosed, wherein the quantum signal wavelength either falls within the classical signal wavelength band, or is very close to one of the classical signal wavelengths. The system includes a deep-notch optical filter with a blocking bandwidth that includes the quantum signal wavelength but not any of the classical signal wavelengths. The deep-notch optical filtering is applied to the classical signals prior to their being multiplexed with the quantum signals to prevent noise generated by the classical signals from adversely affecting transmission of quantum signals in the transmission optical fiber. Narrow-band filtering is also applied to the quantum signals prior to their detection in order to substantially exclude spurious non-quantum-signal wavelengths that arise from non-linear effects in the optical fiber.

Abstract: An apparatus (1) and method for decoupling error correction from privacy amplification in a quantum key distribution (QKD 100) system includes two or more computer systems (102, 108) linked by quantum and classical channels (120, 122) where each computer system determines a generalized error syndrome associated with quantum communication between the systems, encrypts the generalized error syndrome using a sequence of values, and communicates the encrypted generalized error syndrome via a classical channel (128) to the other system, which uses the encrypted generalized error syndromes to compute error correction for the quantum transmission.

Abstract: The invention is a sensitive measuring instrument, which is principally applied to quantum computation, especially to measurement of quantum bits consisting of superconducting micro and nano-structures. The state of a quantum bit is expressed as the voltage-time integral over a circuit component. Phase measurement is performed by measuring the capacitance of a single-electron transistor between the gate and ground.

Abstract: Systems and methods for measuring a pulse length (?0) of an ultra-short light pulse (P0) based on processing a number of substantially similar light pulses. The system includes an autocorrelation optical system adapted to receive the light pulses P0 and create from each light pulse two beams having an associated optical path length difference ?OPL. Providing a different ?OPL for each light pulse creates an autocorrelation interference pattern representative of an autocorrelation of the light pulse P0. An LED detector detects the autocorrelation interference pattern and generates therefrom an autocorrelation signal. A signal-processing unit forms from the autocorrelation signal a digital count signal representative of a number of counted peaks in the autocorrelation signal above the full-width half maximum. Control electronics unit causes the varying ?OPL and provides a difference signal (S?) representative of the ?OPL to the signal-processing unit.

Abstract: Systems and methods for exchanging and processing encoded quantum signals in quantum key distribution (QKD) systems in real time. A stream of quantum signals is sent from Alice to Bob. Alice only encodes sets or “frames” of the streamed quantum signals based on receiving a “ready” message from Bob. This allows for Bob to finish processing the previous frame of data by allowing different bit buffers to fill and then be used for data processing. This approach results in gaps in between frames wherein quantum signals in the stream are sent unencoded and ignored by Bob. However, those quantum signals that are encoded for the given frame are efficiently processed, which on the whole is better than missing encoded quantum signals because Bob is not ready to receive and process them.

Abstract: The invention provides systems and methods enabling high fidelity quantum communication over long communication channels even in the presence of significant loss in the channels. The invention involves laser manipulation of quantum correlated atomic ensembles using linear optic components (110, 120), optical sources of low intensity pulses (10), interferers in the form of beam splitters (150), and single-photon detectors (180, 190) requiring only moderate efficiencies. The invention provides fault-tolerant entanglement generation and connection using a sequence of steps that each provide built-in entanglement purification and that are each resilient to realistic noise levels. The invention relies upon collective rather single particle excitations in atomic ensembles and results in communication efficiency scaling polynomially with the total length of the communication channel.

Abstract: A method of autocalibrating a quantum key distribution (QKD) system (200) is disclosed. The QKD system includes a laser ((202) that generates photon signals in response to a laser gating signal (S0) from a controller (248). The method includes first performing a laser gate scan (304) to establish the optimum arrival time (TMAX) of the laser gating signal corresponding to an optimum—e.g., a maximum number of photon counts (NMAX)—from a single-photon detector (SPD) unit (216) in the QKD system when exchanging photon signals between encoding stations (Alice and Bob) of the QKD system. Once the optimal laser gating signal arrival time (TMAX) is determined, the laser gate scan is terminated and a laser gate dither process (308) is initiated. The laser dither involves varying the arrival time (T) of the laser gating signal around the optimum value of the arrival time TMAX. The laser gate dither provides minor adjustments to the laser gating signal arrival time to ensure that the SPD unit produces an optimum (e.g.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to systems and methods of providing universal quantum computation that avoid certain external control fields that either are hard or impossible to implement, or are serious sources of decoherence (errors). The systems and methods extend the set of scalable physical platforms suitable for implementing quantum computation in solid state, condensed matter and atomic and molecular physics systems. The invention includes identifying of suitable encodings of logical qubits into three physical qubits—i.e. three quantum mechanical systems of two levels—and performing quantum computing operations by changing the quantum states of physical qubits making up one or more logical qubits using only generalized anisotropic exchange interactions. This includes performing a quantum unitary operation over a single logical qubit or a non-local (entangling) two-qubit unitary operation.

Abstract: Systems and method of enhancing the security of a QKD system having operably coupled QKD stations (Alice, Bob) using correlated photon pulses (P1, P2) are disclosed. The method includes generating the correlated photon pulses at Alice and detecting one of the pulses (P2) to determine the number of photons in the other pulse (P1). Pulse P1 is then randomly modulated to form a modulated pulse P1?, which is transmitted to Bob. Bob then randomly modulates pulses P1? to form twice-modulated pulses P1?. Bob then detects pulses P1? at select timing slots that correspond to the expected arrival times of pulses P1?, as well as to the number of photons in pulse P1 (and thus in P1?). Bob then communicates with Alice to determine the number N1 of single-photon pulses P1? detected and the number N2 of multi-photon pulses P1? detected. A security parameter (SP) is defined based on the probabilities of detecting single-photon and multi-photon pulses.

Abstract: A method of synchronizing the operation of a two-way QKD system by sending a sync signal (SC) in only one direction, namely from one QKD station (ALICE) to the other QKD station (BOB). The one-way transmission greatly reduces the amount of light scattering as compared to two-way sync signal transmission. The method includes phase-locking the sync signal at BOB and dithering the timing of the quantum signals so as to operate the QKD system in three different operating states. The number of detected quantum signals is counted for each state for a given number of detector gating signals. The QKD system is then operated in the state associated with the greatest number of detected quantum signals. This method is rapidly repeated during the operation of the QKD system to compensate for timing errors to maintain the system at or near its optimum operating state.

Abstract: A cascaded modulator system (20) and method for a QKD system (10) is disclosed. The modulator system includes to modulators (M1 and M2) optically coupled in series. A parallel shift register (50) generates two-bit (i.e., binary) voltages (L1, L2). These voltage levels are adjusted by respective voltage adjusters (30-1 and 30-2) to generate weighted voltages (V1, V2) that drive the respective modulators. An electronic delay element (40) that matches the optical delay between modulators provides for modulator timing (gating). The net modulation (MNET) imparted to an optical signal (60) is the sum of the modulations imparted by the modulators. The modulator system provides four possible net modulations based only on binary voltage signals. This makes for faster and more efficient modulation in QKD systems and related optical systems when compared to using quad-level voltage signals to drive a single modulator.