Assessing a binary quantum channel exploiting a silicon photomultiplier based hybrid receiver.

In quantum communication protocols, the use of photon-number-resolving detectors could open new perspectives by broadening the way to encode and decode information and merging the properties of discrete and continuous variables. In this work, we consider a quantum channel exploiting a silicon-photomultiplier-based receiver and evaluate its performance for quantum communication protocols under three possible configurations, defined by different post-processing of the detection outcomes. We investigate two scenarios: information transmission over the channel, quantified by the mutual information, and continuous-variable quantum key distribution, quantified by the key generation rate.

Speckled-speckle field as a resource for imaging techniques.

Correlated states of light, both classical and quantum, can find useful applications in the implementation of several imaging techniques. Among the employed sources, pseudo-thermal states, generated by the passage of a laser beam through a diffuser, represent the standard choice. To produce light with a higher level of correlation, in this work we consider and characterize the speckled-speckle field obtained with two diffusers using both a numerical simulation and an experimental implementation.