Reducing spontaneous Raman scattering noise in high quantum bit rate QKD systems over optical fiber

Abstract

We investigate (a) spontaneous Raman scattering of classical signals in long optical fiber links leading to significant Raman noise in quantum channels propagating in the same fiber and (b) impact of chromatic dispersion on the performance of high quantum bit rate QKD systems. One way of decreasing Raman noise is to decrease the classical signal power. This may be achieved by the use of coherent modulation formats and the deployment of Forward Error Correction technology. Additionally, low loss fiber with small Raman gain at telecom wavelengths enables the simultaneous transmission of multiple quantum channels and one or a few classical channels at 100 Gb/s rate over tens, possibly hundreds, of kilometers.