Influence of the Ionosphere E Layer on the Capacity of Satellite-to-Ground Quantum Communication Channels

The ionosphere E layer is about 90-150km from the ground, and contains a large number of ionized free electrons, which will have a great impact on the incident light quantum signal. So far, the research on the influence of the ionospheric E layer on the capacity of satellite-to-ground quantum communication channels has not been carried out. Based on Chapman's theory, this paper establishes a satellite-to-ground quantum communication link attenuation model under different solar zenith angles with electron density and E-layer height. According to this model, the influence of the ionospheric E layer on the amplitude damping channel capacity is simulated and analyzed. The results show that with the decrease of electron density, the increase of solar zenith angle and the increase of E layer height, the attenuation increases gradually and the channel capacity decreases gradually.