Suppressing communication errors using quantum-enabled forward error correction

Area of Science:

• Quantum Information Science
• Optical Communications Engineering
• Error Correction Coding

Background:

• Noise is inherent in all optical communication measurements, necessitating error identification and correction for reliable data transmission.
• Classical error correction techniques are standard in optical receivers but have not been applied to quantum measurement-based receivers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate how information from quantum measurements can be leveraged for efficient error correction in optical communication.
• To introduce a novel quantum-enabled forward error correction protocol.

Main Methods:

• The study developed and applied a quantum-enabled forward error correction protocol.
• The protocol was tested on quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulated signals.

Main Results:

• The quantum-enabled protocol achieved over 80 dB error suppression compared to the raw symbol error rate.
• It provided approximately 40 dB improvement in symbol error rates beyond the classical QPSK limit.
• A symbol error rate below 10^-9 was achieved with only 11 photons per bit.

Conclusions:

• This approach enables reliable quantum receivers for ultra-low power optical communications.
• Utilizing quantum measurements for error correction enhances information capacity and scalability in optical links.