Nonlinear optical quantum communication with a two-dimensional perovskite light source

Abstract

Two-dimensional organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite (2D-OIHP) quantum wells are emerging as promising light sources for quantum communication technologies, owing to their ability to generate polarization-encoded optical signals. In this work, we explore how nonlinear optical phenomena can be exploited for quantum information applications, demonstrating the versatility that arises from resonant coupling among excited states. By tracking changes in the ellipticities of signal photons on femtosecond timescales in four-wave-mixing experiments, we first establish a method for information encoding based on exciton spin dynamics and biexciton correlations. Using single-photon detection, we then implement the BB84 quantum key distribution protocol by mapping these polarization states onto binary sequences. While the polarizations of weak coherent pulses are typically manipulated with optical elements in traditional quantum key distribution approaches, the intrinsic electronic structure and spin relaxation processes within the 2D-OIHP system determine the characteristics of the signal photons in our method. As a demonstration, an ASCII message consisting of 56 bits is transmitted through the polarization states of photons emitted by 2D-OIHP quantum wells. These results show that the information transmission efficiency depends strongly on contributions from biexciton states, highlighting the potential of spin-dependent nonlinear optical processes for quantum communication.