Active polarization stabilization in optical fibers suitable for quantum key distribution

Abstract

Polarization feedback control of single-photon pulses has been achieved in long-distance fibers for more than 10 hours, which facilitated "one-way" polarization-encoded quantum key distribution with long-term stabilities. Experimental test of polarization encoding in 75 km fibers demonstrated that the single-photon polarization transformation in long-distance fibers could be controlled to provide a typical QBER of (3.9+/-1.5)% within a long-term operation of 620 minutes.