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Abstract

We propose a cryptographic scheme that is deterministic: Alice sends single photons to Bob, and each and every photon detected supplies one key bit-no photon is wasted. This is in marked contrast to other schemes in which a random process decides whether the next photon sent will contribute to the key or not. The determinism is achieved by preparing the photons in two- qubit states, rather than the one-qubit states used in conventional schemes. In particular, we consider the realistic situation in which one qubit is the photon polarization and the other a spatial alternative. Further, we show how one can exploit the deterministic nature for direct secure communication, that is without the need-for establishing A shared key first.