Key Distribution Rate Research Articles

Attitude measurement and simulation of two-dimensional position sensitive detector

Aiming at the problems of high error rate of quantum key distribution of physical star and inaccurate location information of motion platform in space, using partial differential equations and finite element tool values to analyze the potential field distribution of PSD. Combined with MATLAB software theory derivation and model simulation for the application of the lateral photoelectric effect of two-dimensional photoelectric position sensor in three-dimensional attitude measurement, especially deepening the theoretical and simulation aspects of lateral photoelectric effect. The experimental data analysis shows that the 2D-PSD detector can realize the displacement resolution precision of XY axis 2um and the polarization angle measurement accuracy within 0.5°of the working interval, which proves the feasibility of 2D attitude measurement by 2D-PSD.

Finite-size analysis of eight-state continuous-variable quantum key distribution with the linear optics cloning machine**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61379153 and 61572529).

We propose a method to improve the secret key rate of an eight-state continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) by using a linear optics cloning machine (LOCM). In the proposed scheme, an LOCM is exploited to compensate for the imperfections of Bob’s apparatus, so that the generated secret key rate of the eight-state protocol could be well enhanced. We investigate the security of our proposed protocol in a finite-size scenario so as to further approach the practical value of a secret key rate. Numeric simulation shows that the LOCM with reasonable tuning gain λ and transmittance τ can effectively improve the secret key rate of eight-state CVQKD in both an asymptotic limit and a finite-size regime. Furthermore, we obtain the tightest bound of the secure distance by taking the finite-size effect into account, which is more practical than that obtained in the asymptotic limit.

Experimental quantum cryptography with single photons

Results are presented from experimental and theoretical studies of the dependence of the rate of quantum key distribution on the average number of photons in a laser pulse. The experimental data are obtained using atmospheric and fiberoptic experimental setups for a quantum key distribution based on the BB84 protocol.

Efficient rate-adaptive reconciliation for CV-QKD protocol

Information reconciliation protocol has a significant effect on the secret key rate and maximal transmission distance of continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) systems. We propose an efficient rate-adaptive reconciliation protocol suitable for practical CV-QKD systems with time-varying quantum channel. This protocol changes the code rate of multi-edge type low density parity check codes, by puncturing (increasing the code rate) and shortening (decreasing the code rate) techniques, to enlarge the correctable signal-to-noise ratios regime, thus improves the overall reconciliation efficiency comparing to the original fixed rate reconciliation protocol. We verify our rate-adaptive reconciliation protocol with three typical code rate, i.e., 0.1, 0.05 and 0.02, the reconciliation efficiency keep around 93.5%, 95.4% and 96.4% for different signal-to-noise ratios, which shows the potential of implementing high-performance CV-QKD systems using single code rate matrix.

Efficient rate-adaptive reconciliation for continuous-variable quantum key distribution

Information reconciliation protocol has a significant effect on the secret key rate and maximal transmission distance of continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) systems. We propose an...

A Secure and Robust Certificateless Public Key Steganography Based on SVD-DDWT

Security and undetectability are main goals of steganographic systems. This paper proposes a novel certificate- less public key steganography that allows two parties that have no prior knowledge of each other to communicate covertly over public channel. Firstly, secure and high efficient rate of key distribution are provided. Secondly, proper stego and destego are introduced based on Distributed Discrete Wavelet Transform (DDWT) and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD).Thirdly, we present the Matlab analysis of the original and stego images, which proves the robustness of our scheme. Finally, the analyses demonstrate that our scheme meets all security requirements of steganographic system and resists various kinds of sophisticated attacks.

Quantum key distribution in single-photon communication system

This paper presents a brief review of experimental studies in quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution by single photons in atmospheric and fiber-optic quantum communication channels. Two experimental setups for quantum key distribution developed at the Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS are described. The dependence of the quantum key distribution rate on the average number of photons μ in the laser pulse was studied. For μ > 0.3, there is a discrepancy between theory and experiment. The reasons for this are, first, the nonzero probability of multiphoton pulses occurring in quantum transmission and counted as single photons by single-photon detectors and, second, the rejection of the cases where several single-photon detectors click simultaneously in quantum key sifting because the measurement result is not determined in these cases.

Coherent state quantum key distribution based on entanglement sudden death

A method for quantum key distribution (QKD) using entangled coherent states is discussed which is designed to provide key distribution rates and transmission distances surpassing those of traditional entangled photon pair QKD by exploiting entanglement sudden death. The method uses entangled electromagnetic signal states of `macroscopic' average photon numbers rather than single photon or entangled photon pairs, which have inherently limited rate and distance performance as bearers of quantum key data. Accordingly, rather than relying specifically on Bell inequalities as do entangled photon pair-based methods, the security of this method is based on entanglement witnesses and related functions.

Quantum key distribution over fiber optic lines using superconducting single-photon detectors

Ways of increasing the rate and distance of quantum key distribution over fiber optic lines are considered. A brief survey of current experimental works on using superconducting detectors in quantum cryptography is given.

Gaussian-only regenerative stations cannot act as quantum repeaters

Higher transmission loss diminishes the performance of optical communication---be it the rate at which classical or quantum data can be sent reliably, or the secure key generation rate of quantum key distribution (QKD). Loss compounds with distance---exponentially in an optical fiber, and inverse square with distance for a free-space channel. In order to boost classical communication rates over long distances, it is customary to introduce regenerative relays at intermediate points along the channel. It is therefore natural to speculate whether untended regenerative stations, such as phase-insensitive or phase-sensitive optical amplifiers, could serve as repeaters for long-distance QKD. The primary result of this paper rules out all bosonic Gaussian channels to be useful as QKD repeaters, which include phase-insensitive and phase-sensitive amplifiers as special cases, for any QKD protocol. We also delineate the conditions under which a Gaussian relay renders a lossy channel entanglement breaking, which in turn makes the channel useless for QKD.

Investigation the bit rate of quantum key using Si single photon detectors

This work reports on the results of experimental investigations bit rate of quantum key distribution on a setup designed for quantum cryptography with single photons. Silicon avalanche photodiodes (C30902S) serve as single-photon detectors. The quantum key is transmitted with pulsed semiconductor lasers by coding polarization states of photons in two alternative nonorthogonal bases over free spase.

Quantum key distribution: defeating collective noise without reducing efficiency

Decoherence-free subspace (DFS) is a valid solution to realize quantum communication over a collective noise channel, and has been widely studied. Generally speaking, replacing a qubit with a DFS state will cause the reduction of communication efficiency. However, in this letter, it is shown that some kinds of noises may not lower the transmission rate of quantum key distribution. To illustrate it, we propose two quantum key distribution protocols based on Bell states. Here, two nonorthogonal and unbiased sets in a DFS are constructed by linear combination of particles at different positions. Since $n-1$ classical bits are distributed by using $2n$ qubits in our protocols, the transmission rate is close to that of noiseless BB84 protocol. Furthermore, when considering the cost of transmitting classical bits, the efficiencies of these protocols are even higher than that of BB84 protocol.

Practical quantum key distribution protocol without monitoring signal disturbance.

Quantum cryptography exploits the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics to provide a secure way to exchange private information. Such an exchange requires a common random bit sequence, called a key, to be shared secretly between the sender and the receiver. The basic idea behind quantum key distribution (QKD) has widely been understood as the property that any attempt to distinguish encoded quantum states causes a disturbance in the signal. As a result, implementation of a QKD protocol involves an estimation of the experimental parameters influenced by the eavesdropper's intervention, which is achieved by randomly sampling the signal. If the estimation of many parameters with high precision is required, the portion of the signal that is sacrificed increases, thus decreasing the efficiency of the protocol. Here we propose a QKD protocol based on an entirely different principle. The sender encodes a bit sequence onto non-orthogonal quantum states and the receiver randomly dictates how a single bit should be calculated from the sequence. The eavesdropper, who is unable to learn the whole of the sequence, cannot guess the bit value correctly. An achievable rate of secure key distribution is calculated by considering complementary choices between quantum measurements of two conjugate observables. We found that a practical implementation using a laser pulse train achieves a key rate comparable to a decoy-state QKD protocol, an often-used technique for lasers. It also has a better tolerance of bit errors and of finite-sized-key effects. We anticipate that this finding will give new insight into how the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics can be related to secure communication, and will facilitate the simple and efficient use of conventional lasers for QKD.

Free space quantum key distribution over 500 meters using electrically driven quantum dot single-photon sources—a proof of principle experiment

Highly efficient single-photon sources (SPS) can increase the secure key rate of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems compared to conventional attenuated laser systems. Here we report on a free space QKD test using an electrically driven quantum dot single-photon source (QD SPS) that does not require a separate laser setup for optical pumping and thus allows for a simple and compact SPS QKD system. We describe its implementation in our 500 m free space QKD system in downtown Munich. Emulating a BB84 protocol operating at a repetition rate of 125 MHz, we could achieve sifted key rates of 5–17 kHz with error ratios of 6–9% and -values of 0.39–0.76.

Intrinsic imperfection of self-differencing single-photon detectors harms the security of high-speed quantum cryptography systems

Thanks to the high-speed self-differencing single-photon detector (SD-SPD), the secret key rate of quantum key distribution (QKD), which can, in principle, offer unconditionally secure private communications between two users (Alice and Bob), can exceed 1 Mbit/s. However, the SD-SPD may contain loopholes, which can be exploited by an eavesdropper (Eve) to hack into the unconditional security of the high-speed QKD systems. In this paper, we analyze the fact that the SD-SPD can be remotely controlled by Eve in order to spy on full information without being discovered, then proof-of-principle experiments are demonstrated. Here, we point out that this loophole is introduced directly by the operating principle of the SD-SPD, thus, it cannot be removed, except for the fact that some active countermeasures are applied by the legitimate parties.

Microwave Photonics Parallel Quantum Key Distribution

The incorporation of multiplexing techniques used in microwave photonics to quantum key distribution (QKD) systems brings important advantages by enabling the simultaneous and parallel delivery of multiple keys between a central station and different end-users in the context of multipoint access and metropolitan networks, or by providing higher key distribution rates in point to point links by suitably linking the parallel distributed keys. It also allows the coexistence of classical information and QKD channels over a single optical fiber infrastructure. In this paper, we show, for the first time to our knowledge, the successful operation of a two-domain (subcarrier and wavelength division) multiplexed strong reference BB84 QKD system. A four-independent channel QKD system featuring a sifted key rate of 10 kb/s/channel over an 11-km link with quantum bit error rate (QBER) <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$&lt;$</tex></formula> 2% is reported. These results open the way for multi-QKD over optical fiber networks.

Study on the security of discrete-variable quantum key distribution over non-Markovian channels

The dynamic of the secret key rate of the discrete-variable quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol over the non-Markovian quantum channel is investigated. In particular, we calculate the secret key rate for the six-state protocol over non-Markovian depolarizing channels with coloured noise and Markovian depolarizing channels with Gaussian white noise, respectively. We find that the secure secret key rate for the non-Markovian depolarizing channel will be larger than the Markovian one under the same conditions even when their upper bounds of tolerable quantum bit error rate are equal. This indicates that this coloured noise in the non-Markovian depolarizing channel can enhance the security of communication. Moreover, we show that the secret key rate fluctuates near the secure point when the coupling strength of the system with the environment is high. The results demonstrate that the non-Markovian effects of the transmission channel can have a positive impact on the security of discrete-variable QKD.

The influence of stochastic dispersion on quantum key distribution system

By theoretical calculation and analysis, this paper studies the influence of stochastic fiber dispersion on interference stability and erroneous detected rate of quantum key distribution (QKD) system receiver, and analyses its effects on quantum key generation rates of decoy states QKD. The result shows that the interference contrast and erroneous detected rate of the system will be affected by real part only but not by imaginary part only. However, when the real part exists, the imaginary part will have an effect on the interference contrast and erroneous detected rate.

Impact of Third-Order Intermodulation on the Performance of Subcarrier Multiplexed Quantum Key Distribution

This paper extends the analysis presented in a previous contribution to account for the effect of third-order intermodulation distortion in the system quantum bit error rate attainable in subcarrier multiplexed quantum key distribution (SCM-QKD) systems, showing that under practical conditions this effect can be safely neglected. When the unconditionally secure key distribution rate is computed for BB84 SCM-QKD systems based on weak coherent pulses and strong reference, it is found a per-channel additional decrease due to nonlinear distortions as low as 1% when compared to the dedicated nonmultiplexed BB84 key distribution channels operated under the same conditions.

Long-distance practical quantum key distribution by entanglement swapping

We develop a model for practical, entanglement-based long-distance quantum key distribution employing entanglement swapping as a key building block. Relying only on existing off-the-shelf technology, we show how to optimize resources so as to maximize secret key distribution rates. The tools comprise lossy transmission links, such as telecom optical fibers or free space, parametric down-conversion sources of entangled photon pairs, and threshold detectors that are inefficient and have dark counts. Our analysis provides the optimal trade-off between detector efficiency and dark counts, which are usually competing, as well as the optimal source brightness that maximizes the secret key rate for specified distances (i.e. loss) between sender and receiver.