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arXiv:1806.01989 · IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science

A Voltage Pulse Generator for Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution

Sijie Zhang, Nan Zhou, Fanshui Deng, Hao Liang

Published May 15, 2019• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDIQKD) protocol has been proven to be unaffected by all hacking attacks and ensures the security of information theory even when the performance of single-photon detectors is not ideal. Single-mode fiber and free space are the two main channel choices in MDIQKD experiments. In this paper, we present a voltage pulse generator (VPG) for the MDIQKD, focusing on the realization of pulse control using a wideband amplifier that offers a high dynamic range, on the prevention of waveform distortion and insufficient drive capacity. In order to implement MDIQKD experiments, either fiber channel or free-space channel, a pulse modulation module is needed to modulate the wide pulse chopping, decoy state, normalization, phase encoding, and time encoding. The test results of the joint test with fiber channel MDIQKD show that the quantum bit error ratio (QBER) in the time state is around 0.034%, and the QBER in the phase state is around 28%. The VPG has fulfilled the requirements of system indicator and has been put into use in actual single-mode fiber channel MDIQKD experiments.

DOI
10.1109/tns.2019.2916973

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Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDIQKD) protocol has been proven to be unaffected by all hacking attacks and ensures the security of information theory even when the performance of single-photon detectors is not ideal. Single-mode fiber and free space are the two main channel choices in MDIQKD experiments. In this paper, we present a voltage pulse generator (VPG) for the MDIQKD, focusing on the realization of pulse control using a wideband amplifier that offers a high dynamic range, on the prevention of waveform distortion and insufficient drive capacity. In order to implement MDIQKD experiments, either fiber channel or free-space channel, a pulse modulation module is needed to modulate the wide pulse chopping, decoy state, normalization, phase encoding, and time encoding. The test results of the joint test with fiber channel MDIQKD show that the quantum bit error ratio (QBER) in the time state is around 0.034%, and the QBER in the phase state is around 28%. The VPG has fulfilled the requirements of system indicator and has been put into use in actual single-mode fiber channel MDIQKD experiments.
The main type of obstacles of practical applications of quantum key distribution (QKD) network are various attacks on detection. Measurement-device-independent QKD (MDIQKD) protocol is immune to all these attacks, and thus, a strong candidate for network security. Recently, several proof-of-principle demonstrations of MDIQKD have been performed. Although novel, those experiments are implemented in the laboratory with secure key rates less than 0.1 b/s. Besides, they need manual calibration frequently to maintain the system performance. These aspects render these demonstrations far from practicability. Thus, justification is extremely crucial for practical deployment into the field environment. Here, by developing an automatic feedback MDIQKD system operated at a high clock rate, we perform a field test via deployed fiber network of 30 km total length achieving a 16.9 b/s secure key rate. The result lays the foundation for a global quantum network, which can shield from all the detection-side attacks.
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Recently, a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme based on entanglement swapping, called measurement-device-independent QKD (mdiQKD), was proposed to bypass all measurement side-channel attacks. While mdiQKD is conceptually elegant and offers a supreme level of security, the experimental complexity is challenging for practical systems. For instance, it requires interference between two widely separated independent single-photon sources, and the secret key rates are dependent on detecting two photons—one from each source. Here, we demonstrate a proof-of-principle experiment of a QKD scheme that removes the need for a two-photon system and instead uses the idea of a two-qubit single-photon to significantly simplify the implementation and improve the efficiency of mdiQKD in several aspects.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two remote parties to generate secret keys for cryptographic purposes. Its security has been proven with some assumptions. However, practical realizations may not comply with all the assumptions, leading to various attacks. Founded on the observation that almost all attacks are on the detection part, measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD) was proposed to remove all such attacks. This thesis presents an implementation of the protocol. In our implementation, key bit information was encoded in the polarization states of weak coherent pulses at 1542 nm wavelength in optical fibers, and decoy state techniques were employed. We ensured stable polarization preparation and alignment and developed a QKD system over 10 km of standard Telecom fibers at 500 KHz repetition rate. Our work demonstrates the practicality of MDI-QKD protocol of removing all attacks, existing and yet to be discovered, on the detection part of a QKD system.
We assess the overall performance of our quantum key distribution (QKD) system implementing the measurement-device-independent (MDI) protocol using components with varying capabilities such as different single-photon detectors and qubit preparation hardware. We experimentally show that superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors allow QKD over a channel featuring 60 dB loss, and QKD with more than 600 bits of secret key per second (not considering finite key effects) over a 16 dB loss channel. This corresponds to 300 and 80 km of standard telecommunication fiber, respectively. We also demonstrate that the integration of our QKD system into FPGA-based hardware (instead of state-of-the-art arbitrary waveform generators) does not impact on its performance. Our investigation allows us to acquire an improved understanding of the trade-offs between complexity, cost and system performance, which is required for future customization of MDI-QKD. Given that our system can be operated outside the laboratory over deployed fiber, we conclude that MDI-QKD is a promising approach to information-theoretic secure key distribution.
Quantum key distribution is proven to offer unconditional security in communication between two remote users with ideal source and detection. Unfortunately, ideal devices never exist in practice and device imperfections have become the targets of various attacks. By developing up-conversion single-photon detectors with high efficiency and low noise, we faithfully demonstrate the measurement-device-independent quantum-key-distribution protocol, which is immune to all hacking strategies on detection. Meanwhile, we employ the decoy-state method to defend attacks on a nonideal source. By assuming a trusted source scenario, our practical system, which generates more than a 25 kbit secure key over a 50 km fiber link, serves as a stepping stone in the quest for unconditionally secure communications with realistic devices.