Pulsed phase modulation with harmonic electric control signal for quantum key distribution implementations
Abstract
In this work, we investigate an alternative approach to phase modulation for information encoding and decoding in quantum key distribution systems. Specifically, we propose pulsed phase modulation, i.e. it has an envelope in addition to previously considered only harmonic temporal behavior of modulation index (depth), as a replacement for the conventional use of both intensity and phase modulators, which enables a more compact and cost-effective optical design. We further analyze how the principal parameters of this scheme affect the interference observed at the receiver and, consequently, their contribution to the quantum bit error rate in a subcarrier-wave quantum key distribution implementation.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Quantum Information and Cryptography
Optical Network Technologies
Advanced Photonic Communication Systems
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Nanosystems Physics Chemistry Mathematics
- Publisher
- ITMO University
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 39–45
- Publication date
- 4 March 2026