Gaussian entanglement distribution with gigahertz bandwidth

Opt Lett. 2016 Nov 1;41(21):5094-5097. doi: 10.1364/OL.41.005094.

Abstract

The distribution of entanglement with Gaussian statistic can be used to generate a mathematically proven secure key for quantum cryptography. The distributed secret key rate is limited by the entanglement strength, the entanglement bandwidth, and the bandwidth of the photoelectric detectors. The development of a source for strongly bipartite entangled light with high bandwidth promises an increased measurement speed and a linear boost in the secure data rate. Here, we present the experimental realization of a Gaussian entanglement source with a bandwidth of more than 1.25 GHz. The entanglement spectrum was measured with balanced homodyne detectors and was quantified via the inseparability criterion introduced by Duan and coworkers with a critical value of 4 below which entanglement is certified. Our measurements yielded an inseparability value of about 1.8 at a frequency of 300 MHz to about 2.8 at 1.2 GHz, extending further to about 3.1 at 1.48 GHz. In the experiment we used two 2.6 mm long monolithic periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) resonators to generate two squeezed fields at the telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm. Our result proves the possibility of generating and detecting strong continuous-variable entanglement with high speed.