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Updated: May 29, 2026

Quantum State Engineering of Light with Continuous-wave Optical Parametric Oscillators
Published on: May 30, 2014
Influence of atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of quantum states of light using plane-wave encoding
Robert W Boyd1, Brandon Rodenburg, Mohammad Mirhosseini
1The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA. boydrw@mac.com
Abstract:
We consider the possibility of performing quantum key distribution (QKD) by encoding information onto individual photons using plane-wave basis states. We compare the results of this calculation to those obtained by earlier workers, who considered encoding using OAM-carrying vortex modes of the field. We find theoretically that plane-wave encoding is less strongly influenced by atmospheric turbulence than is OAM encoding, with potentially important implications for free-space quantum key distribution.
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