Measurements of atmospheric background light in the urban area Waterloo and its impact on satellite QKD system performance

Stefanie Häusler; Florian Schümann; Leonard Vollmann; Davide Orsucci; Paul Godin; Katanya Kuntz; Nouralhoda Bayat; Thomas Jennewein; Florian Moll

doi:10.1117/12.3033670

18 November 2024 Measurements of atmospheric background light in the urban area Waterloo and its impact on satellite QKD system performance

Stefanie Häusler, Florian Schümann, Leonard Vollmann, Davide Orsucci, Paul Godin, Katanya Kuntz, Nouralhoda Bayat, Thomas Jennewein, Florian Moll

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13194, Environmental Effects on Light Propagation and Adaptive Systems VII; 131940R (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3033670
Event: Remote Sensing, 2024, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) allows sharing encryption keys with information theoretic security. Satellitebased QKD can establish long distance links due to the quadratic transmission loss in free-space instead of the exponential transmission loss in optical fibers. Atmospheric background light plays an important role in the QKD scheme as it may significantly contribute to the system Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER). Therefore, background light needs to be examined closely. Due to the high variability of atmospheric conditions, direct measurements of the background light under different meteorological conditions are the best option to properly characterize the effect. Current considerations are mainly limited to the analysis of cloud-free scenarios by simulation and by experiment. Links can also take place when the environment differs from this ideal condition. Measurement data was recorded in C-band at the campus of the University of Waterloo, Canada, during the day with clear sky and during sunset with clear sky and partly-clouded sky conditions. The measurement data is shown and compared to simulation results and to the measurement data taken in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. The impact of background light is discussed on a chosen reference scenario outlining the importance of detector gating time and end-to-end transmission loss when wanting to realize daylight QKD.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Stefanie Häusler, Florian Schümann, Leonard Vollmann, Davide Orsucci, Paul Godin, Katanya Kuntz, Nouralhoda Bayat, Thomas Jennewein, and Florian Moll "Measurements of atmospheric background light in the urban area Waterloo and its impact on satellite QKD system performance", Proc. SPIE 13194, Environmental Effects on Light Propagation and Adaptive Systems VII, 131940R (18 November 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3033670

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KEYWORDS

Quantum key distribution

Sensors

Satellites

Aerosols

Optical testing

Visibility

Atmospheric modeling

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