Part of: A Science Kit for Quantum Physics.
- Overview
- Sample Experiments
- Add-Ons
- System Includes
- Variants
- Downloads
Overview
One of the most popular industrial applications for quantum phenomena right now is quantum cryptography, or better, quantum key distribution. With the the quED and this add-on, you can use weak coherent pulses to demonstrate realistically how a secure communication between two parties (Alice and Bob) is made possible by the BB84 protocol in a real environment. Additionally, a pulse with average photon numbers from 0.1 to 100 can be generated by the click of a button, which can be useful for showing the particle nature of light or quantum randomness.
Disclaimer: This is a QKD demonstration experiment kit. It shows and teaches the fundamental protocol (without cheating), but it is NOT a QKD device that can be used in a real-world scenario. The distance between Alice and Bob is only a few centimeters and this amongst other aspects renders it absolutely useless for real applications.
Sample Experiments
Here is a list of the experiments where the quED-QKD is involved or can enhance the experience.
Single Photon Experiments without Interference
Single Photon Experiments with Interference
- Interaction-Free Measurement (Bomb Test)
These are the experiments we have come up with so far and found interesting enough to put them here. Do you have more ideas? Please let us know!
Other Add-Ons
Here are more add-ons designed to be extend the functionality of the quED:
System Includes
The quED-QKD is an add-on to the quED and consists of the following parts:
- Hard- and Software support for pulsed operation of the quED (the control unit is upgraded)
- Half-wave plate (Alice)
Variants
There are two variants of the quED-QKD:
- Manual: The half-wave-plate and the polarizer have to be set manually, the results are also taken by hand.
- Motorized: Random numbers can be used to automatically set the half-wave-plate and the polarizer. The resulting key can be measured and refined further automatically in the control unit.