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Synopsis

Transmitting single photons through the atmosphere—and, in particular, detecting them reliably—is a major challenge for satellite quantum communications. The difficulty increases substantially during daylight operation, when the quantum signal is accompanied by an overwhelming background of unwanted photons that must be suppressed before reaching the detectors.

In this talk, I will present a high-brightness source of entangled photon pairs, reported to be among the brightest sources of its kind described in the literature. I will then discuss a proof-of-concept experiment, supported by numerical simulations, demonstrating the feasibility of satellite entanglement-based quantum key distribution under daylight conditions. The results indicate that even the more demanding optical uplink configuration may be viable for satellites operating in very low Earth orbit.

Finally, I will present our ongoing collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and related projects focused on the development of high-rate photon detectors for optical ground stations, optical ranging technologies, and verification and validation methodologies for quantum technologies.

Bio

Piotr Kolenderski is a professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland, where he leads the Single Photon Applications Laboratory. He is also a founder of empiriQa, a company operating in the space and quantum technology sectors. He holds an . and a Ph.D. in physics from Nicolaus Copernicus University and previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Quantum Computing in Waterloo, Canada. His expertise includes quantum optics and satellite quantum communications. His current R&D projects, funded by the European Space Agency, focus on the cybersecurity of satellite-based quantum and classical communication networks, the development of advanced quantum key distribution protocols, and technologies for optical ground stations.