High-performance 1560 nm Entangled Photon Source for high secure key rates QKD satellite-based communications
Jean-Marc Mérolla, Benjamin Pages, Johann Cussey, Romain Martinenghi, Valentin Parra, E. Fretel, Jérôme Prieur, Jorge Piris · 2023
In the frame of the Secure And cryptoGrAphic (SAGA) project under ESA ARTES 4.0 program, we report the design and the test of a High-Performance Entangled Photon Source (HP-EPS) dedicated to QKD satellite-based communication, by using the Conventional-band optical fiber telecom components.We developed an asynchronous time binning higher than 10 bits/sec and 5 bits/sec for respectively a 60 dB (LEO) and a 65 dB (GEO) transmission loss budgets (both downlinks combined).The compactness and simplicity of the optical design, the low electrical consumption and the low mass combined with the robustness of the all-fibered design to the space environment (mechanical vibrations, shock, and radiations) make the HP-EPS a valuable and serious candidate for the satellite-based QKD quest.