[en] Absorption and emission cross sections are measured for the ²F_5/2 → ²F_7/2 transition in Yb³⁺ ions in silica fibres doped with Al₂O₃ and P₂O₅. The measurements were performed by methods based on spectroscopic data and by more direct methods based on laser-transition saturation. Possible lasing ranges of ytterbium-doped double-clad fibre lasers are calculated from the measured spectral dependences of stimulated transition cross sections. (fibre optics)

[en] An attack exploiting single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) blinding is one of the effective methods of ‘quantum hacking’ (Lydersen et al 2010 Nat. Photon. 4 686) or cracking quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. This attack was experimentally demonstrated for various QKD systems based on both phase and polarization coding. After such an attack, the eavesdropper knows the whole key, has not produced errors, and is not detected. So far this attack is the only one that was demonstrated in the explicit form on many real QKD systems. It is important that these demonstrations were actually performed in reality, i.e. not in speculations as some other attacks. Therefore, the presence of vulnerability in QKD systems based on polarization coding is an existing fact, rather than just a potential threat. It is often assumed that all systems regardless of the encoding method are vulnerable to such an attack. However, in the case of phase coding, some essential features of photocount statistics on the receiving side make a difference. In this Letter we prove that detector blinding attack, when acts on QKD systems with phase coding, leads to a distortion of the photocounts statistics so the eavesdropper may always be detected. Moreover, one does not need to change the design of the QKD system and/or its control electronics, as it is sufficient to amend only the processing of the quantum states registration results to make the system secure. At the same time, polarization coding-based systems remain vulnerable to such an attack and do not guarantee key security. (letter)

[en] Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a concept of secret key exchange supported by fundamentals of quantum physics. Its perfect realization offers unconditional key security, however, known practical schemes are potentially vulnerable if the quantum channel loss exceeds a certain realization-specific bound. This discrepancy is caused by the fact that any practical photon source has a non-zero probability of emitting two or more photons at a time, while theory needs exactly one. We report an essentially different QKD scheme based on both quantum physics and theory of relativity. It works flawlessly with practical photon sources at arbitrary large channel loss. Our scheme is naturally tailored for free-space optical channels, and may be used in ground-to-satellite communications, where losses are prohibitively large and unpredictable for conventional QKD. (letters)

[en] The decoy state method has been proposed to detect a photon number splitting (PNS) attack. Today, the decoy state method is considered to be an almost universal method for proving the secrecy of quantum cryptography protocols and calculating the length of a secret key. In this paper, it is shown that there exist attacks, for example, a beam splitting (BS) attack, to which the decoy state method turns out to be insensitive. The decoy state method is oriented to the detection of changes in the photocount statistics of information states and decoy states under a PNS attack. Under a BS attack, the photocount statistics is not changed. As a result, the decoy state method significantly overestimates the length of the key. Thus, the decoy state method is not a universal method that allows the detection of various attacks. Apparently, due to a large number of publications on the decoy state method, a widespread opinion has been formed that this method is universal. This fact has led to attempts to adopt this method as an international standard in quantum cryptography, which is clearly premature.

[en] An efficient thulium-doped fibre laser emitting at ∼2 μm upon pumping into the long-wavelength ³H₆ → ³H₅ absorption band of Tm³⁺ ions is developed. The maximum output power of the single-mode thulium laser pumped at 1230 nm was 7 W at 1956 nm for a pump conversion efficiency of 35%. (lasers)

[en] The stability of destructive interference independent of the input polarization and the state of a quantum communication channel in fiber optic systems used in quantum cryptography plays a principal role in providing the security of communicated keys. A novel optical scheme is proposed that can be used both in relativistic quantum cryptography for communicating keys in open space and for communicating them over fiber optic lines. The scheme ensures stability of destructive interference and admits simple automatic balancing of a fiber interferometer.

[en] Single-mode cw Yb-, Er-Yb, and Nd-doped fibre lasers are fabricated by using fibres of a complicated structure (a few silica fibres in optical contact with each other are surrounded by a polymer jacket). Such a structure allows the coupling of radiation from several pump sources into one active fibre, providing an increase in the output power of the fibre laser. The Yb-doped fibre lasers with the output power above 50 W and efficiency ∼65% and the 1.608-μm Er-Yb-doped fibre laser pumped to the absorption band of Yb are fabricated and studied. The Nd-doped fibre lasers based on such fibres and emitting at 0.92 and 1.06 μm are manufactured for the first time. (lasers)

[en] The method of estimating the adequacy, completeness, and accuracy of quantum tomography protocols is generalized to the case of mixed states of polarization qubits. The efficiency of the method is illustrated based on mathematical modeling and experimental investigation of some practically important quantum tomography protocols.

[en] We present a complete methodology for testing the performances of quantum tomography protocols. The theory is validated by several numerical examples and by the comparison with experimental results achieved with various protocols for whole families of polarization states of qubits and ququarts including pure, mixed, entangled, and separable.