Abstract:A novel integrated optical source capable of emitting faint pulses with different polarization states and with different intensity levels at 100 MHz has been developed. The source relies on a single laser diode followed by four semiconductor optical amplifiers and thin film polarizers, connected through a fiber network. The use of a single laser ensures high level of indistinguishability in time and spectrum of the pulses for the four different polarizations and three different levels of intensity. The applicability of the source is demonstrated in the lab through a free space quantum key distribution experiment which makes use of the decoy state BB84 protocol. We achieved a lower bound secure key rate of the order of 3.64 Mbps and a quantum bit error ratio as low as 1.14 × 10 −2 while the lower bound secure key rate became 187 bps for an equivalent attenuation of 35 dB. To our knowledge, this is the fastest polarization encoded QKD system which has been reported so far. The performance, reduced size, low power consumption and the fact that the components used can be space qualified make the source particularly suitable for secure satellite communication.

We report progress in the design of the BepiColombo Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (MIXS). This instrument consists of two modules; a Wolter I soft X-ray telescope based on radially packed microchannel plate optics (MIXS-T) and a profiled collimator which uses a square pore square packed microchannel plate array to restrict its field of view (MIXS-C). Both instrument modules have identical focal planes (DEPFET macropixel array) providing an energy resolution of better than 200 eV FWHM throughout the mission.The primary science goal of MIXS is to perform X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy of the Hermean surface with unprecedented spatial and energy resolution. This allows discrimination between different regolith types, and by combining with data from other instruments, between competing models of crustal evolution and planetary formation. MIXS will also probe the complex coupling between the planet's surface, exosphere and magnetosphere by observing Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE).

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