Experimental Evaluation of Passive Polarization Compensation Techniques for Fiber-Distributed Polarization-Entangled Photons
Abstract
Entanglement distribution through optical fibers is essential for quantum communication networks; however, fiber transmission can alter photon polarization and modify the observed correlations of polarization-entangled states, necessitating polarization compensation to recover the desired entangled state in the measurement basis. Here, we experimentally evaluate two passive polarization compensation techniques: a free-space Quarter-Half-Quarter (QHQ) waveplate configuration and an in-fiber three-paddle Fiber Polarization Controller (FPC). The polarization transformation along each downconverted-photon path is independently compensated through a systematic path-by-path optimization procedure. Using both techniques, we recover high-quality polarization correlations and entanglement, with visibilities exceeding 93% in three mutually unbiased bases and fidelities above 94.5%. The results demonstrate comparable restoration using free-space waveplate-based and fiber-based control, establishing a systematic framework for laboratory and short-reach quantum communication links.
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BibTeX
@misc{thik2026experimental,
title = {{Experimental Evaluation of Passive Polarization Compensation Techniques for Fiber-Distributed Polarization-Entangled Photons}},
author = {Gayatri Thik and Amit Loyal and Srinivasan K and Raghavan G},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.02554},
eprint = {2609.02554},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.02554},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Experimental Evaluation of Passive Polarization Compensation Techniques for Fiber-Distributed Polarization-Entangled Photons
AU - Gayatri Thik
AU - Amit Loyal
AU - Srinivasan K
AU - Raghavan G
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.02554
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.02554
AB - Entanglement distribution through optical fibers is essential for quantum communication networks; however, fiber transmission can alter photon polarization and modify the observed correlations of polarization-entangled states, necessitating polarization compensation to recover the desired entangled state in the measurement basis. Here, we experimentally evaluate two passive polarization compensation techniques: a free-space Quarter-Half-Quarter (QHQ) waveplate configuration and an in-fiber three-paddle Fiber Polarization Controller (FPC). The polarization transformation along each downconverted-photon path is independently compensated through a systematic path-by-path optimization procedure. Using both techniques, we recover high-quality polarization correlations and entanglement, with visibilities exceeding 93% in three mutually unbiased bases and fidelities above 94.5%. The results demonstrate comparable restoration using free-space waveplate-based and fiber-based control, establishing a systematic framework for laboratory and short-reach quantum communication links.
ER -