Chinese Journal of Quantum Electronics ›› 2022, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (1): 64-80.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1007-5461.2022.01.004

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High-dimensional quantum key distribution based on orbital angular momentum photons: A review

WANG Fangxiang 1,2 , CHEN Wei 1,2∗   

  1. ( 1 CAS Key Laboratory of Quantum Information, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; 2 CAS Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China )
  • Received:2021-10-19 Revised:2021-12-09 Published:2022-01-28 Online:2022-01-28
  • Contact: Wei Chen E-mail:weich@ustc.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China;National Natural Science Foundation of China;China Postdoctoral Science Foundation

Abstract: Information security is a crucial part of a nation’s core competitiveness. Based on the fundamental principle of quantum mechanics, quantum key distribution (QKD) realizes information encryption being independent of computational complexity, thus becomes an important element of the nextgeneration technology for information security. With the development during the last thirty years, QKD technology, combined with the decoy-state method, has become mature. Especially, the BB84-protocol QKD system has been deployed for practical application. Seeking and pursuing better underlying schemes nd fundamental technologies is the best way to promote the development of QKD. By utilizing highdimensional quantum states for the encoding and decoding procedures, high-dimensional QKD (HDQKD) can transfer a larger amount of information and possess stronger noise resistance ability. Therefore, it has been a fast-growing branch of QKD and strongly supports further development of QKD. The degree of freedom of orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons possesses a Hilbert space with infinite dimensionality in principle, and hence is a potential resource for HD-QKD. In this paper, the development history and important progress of HD-QKD technology based on OAM photons are reviewed, and the challenges to be overcome and the trends of HD-QKD technology before practical applications are also discussed and prospected.

Key words: quantum information, high-dimensional quantum key distribution, vector vortex, orbital angular momentum, quantum cryptography, information security

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