Quantum Information, 2 Volume Set, 2nd Edition

17 Quantum Communication Experiments with Discrete Variables

Harald Weinfurter^1,2

¹ Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Schellingstr. 4, 80799 Munich, Germany

² Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Kopfermann-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

17.1 Aunt Martha

After learning about the first quantum communication protocol, the BB84 protocol enabling secure key exchange, one might think that it is straightforward to set up the experiment. Yet, it took quite a few years, and in particular also the initiative of the inventers Bennett and Brassard, to start, together with Besette, Savail, and Smolin, the first experiment on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). The first secure quantum key between Alice and Bob was ...