Practical quantum-enhanced receivers for classical communication

Communication is an integral part of human life. Today, optical pulses are the preferred information carriers for long-distance communication. The exponential growth in data leads to a “capacity crunch” in the underlying physical systems. One of the possible methods to deter the exponential growth of physical resources for communication is to use quantum, rather than classical measurement at the receiver. Quantum measurement improves the energy efficiency of optical communication protocols by enabling discrimination of optical coherent states with the discrimination error rate below the shot-noise limit. In this review article, the authors focus on quantum receivers that can be practically implemented at the current state of technology, first and foremost displacement-based receivers. The authors present the experimentalist view on the progress in quantum-enhanced receivers and discuss their potential.