Secure communication based on sensing of undetected photons

¹ Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques (MPQ), Université Paris Cité, CNRS-UMR 7162, Paris 75013, France
² Laboratoire de Physique de l’ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France

^* e-mail: jean.sternberg@u-paris.fr
^** e-mail: maria.amanti@paris7.jussieu.fr

Published online: 31 October 2024

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a secure optical communication protocol that harnesses quantum correlation within entangled photon pairs. A message written by acting on one of the photons can be read by measuring exclusively the other photon of the pair. In this scheme, a bright, meaningless optical beam hides the message, rendering it inaccessible to potential eavesdroppers. Unlike traditional methods, our approach only affects unauthorized users, fundamentally limiting their access to the communication channel. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our protocol by achieving secure communication through both amplitude and phase modulation, relying on single-photon measurements, as opposed to most approaches which rely on coincidence measurements. We successfully demonstrate the resilience of the data transfer to noise up to 10⁵ times greater than the signal, and we employ this technique for the secure transfer of an image.