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arXiv:1808.08586 · Optics Express

Integrated measurement server for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution network

Ci-Yu Wang, Jun Gao, Zhi-Qiang Jiao, Lu-Feng Qiao, Ruo-Jing Ren, Zhen Feng, Yuan Chen, Zeng-Quan Yan, Yao Wang, Hao Long Tang, Xian-Min Jin

Published Feb 20, 2019• 19 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum key distribution (QKD), harnessing quantum physics and optoelectronics, may promise unconditionally secure information exchange in theory. Recently, theoretical and experimental advances in measurement-device-independent (MDI)-QKD have successfully closed the physical back door in detection terminals. However, the issues of scalability, stability, cost and loss prevent QKD systems from widespread application in practice. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a solution to build a star-topology quantum access network with an integrated server. By using femtosecond laser direct writing techniques, we construct integrated circuits for all the elements of Bell state analyzer together and are able to integrate 10 such analyzer structures on a single photonic chip. The measured high-visibility Bell state analysis suggests the integrated server as a promising platform for the practical application of MDI-QKD network.

DOI
10.1364/oe.27.005982

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Quantum key distribution (QKD), harnessing quantum physics and optoelectronics, may promise unconditionally secure information exchange in theory. Recently, theoretical and experimental advances in measurement-device-independent (MDI)-QKD have successfully closed the physical back door in detection terminals. However, the issues of scalability, stability, cost and loss prevent QKD systems from widespread application in practice. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a solution to build a star-topology quantum access network with an integrated server. By using femtosecond laser direct writing techniques, we construct integrated circuits for all the elements of Bell state analyzer together and are able to integrate 10 such analyzer structures on a single photonic chip. The measured high-visibility Bell state analysis suggests the integrated server as a promising platform for the practical application of MDI-QKD network.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises security stemming from the laws of quantum physics. QKD devices based on integrated chips not only provides miniaturization, but also enhanced performance, which is important to practical and scalable networks. Here we report the realization of a relay server for measurement-device-independent QKD based on a heterogeneous superconducting-silicon-photonic chip. Silicon waveguides and beam splitters are used for optical guidance and interference. Waveguide integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors are used to detector single photons. We show Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between weak coherent states with a visibility of 48%(2%). Our system generates 733 sifted bits at about 71 dB attenuation (equivalent to 358 km standard fiber) with a quantum bit error rate of 3.5%(0.7%). The fabrication processes of our device are compatible with standard thin-film technology. Together with integrated QKD transmitters, a scalable, chip-based and cost-effective QKD network can be realized in the near future.
Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI QKD) removes all detector side channels and enables secure QKD with an untrusted relay.It is suitable for building a star-type quantum access network, where the complicated and expensive measurement devices are placed in the central untrusted relay and each user requires only a low-cost transmitter, such as an integrated photonic chip.Here, we experimentally demonstrate a 1.25-GHz silicon photonic chip-based MDI QKD system using polarization encoding.The photonic chip transmitters integrate the necessary encoding components for a standard QKD source.We implement random modulations of polarization states and decoy intensities, and demonstrate a finite-key secret rate of 31 bit=s over 36-dB channel loss (or 180-km standard fiber).This key rate is higher than state-of-the-art MDI QKD experiments.The results show that silicon photonic chipbased MDI QKD, benefiting from miniaturization, low-cost manufacture, and compatibility with CMOS microelectronics, is a promising solution for future quantum secure networks.
As quantum key distribution (QKD) begins to move from laboratories into real-world use cases, some practical aspects need to be addressed before it can be widely adopted. Not least of which is the size and cost of the devices. The semiconductor industry, over the last 50 years, has provided a scalable platform for integrated electronics. Using the same fabrication processes, it is possible to create quantum photonic microchips to entirely replace the optical components needed for QKD. Using both indium phosphide and silicon devices, we can design and fabricate integrated devices to perform QKD with highly competitive speeds and error rates. At the same time, they offer dramatically reduced power requirements, size and costs while offering increased phase stability and inherent scalability. Other recent developments in the field include new protocols to remove the security assumptions about the physical devices used. One such protocol is measurement-device independent QKD (MDI-QKD) which removes all detector side-channels. Combining integrated devices with MDI-QKD, we are working towards developing a practical architecture for metropolitan QKD. Here, we provide a recap of QKD and discuss the current state of integrated QKD devices and their potential applications in metropolitan networks.
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.
Photonic chip integration would greatly benefit quantum key distribution (QKD) systems for secure communication, in terms of compactness, scalability, and well-established fabrication techniques. This study demonstrates proof of concept for an all-chip measurement-device-independent QKD system using integrated silicon photonic technology. The prototype generates a key rate per pulse of $2.923\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ over a distance corresponding to 50 km of standard fiber with 25% detection efficiency; the system is projected to be able to work at 120 km with 85% detection efficiency. This technology shows great promise for highly integrated quantum communication networks.
Breakthroughs in chip integration technology have accelerated the practical deployment and scalable implementation of quantum key distribution (QKD). On-chip quantum light sources are critical components of fully integrated QKD systems. Measurement-Device-Independent QKD (MDI-QKD) offers significant advantages in network communication by eliminating vulnerabilities to side-channel attacks at the detector side, while relying on high-visibility Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between photons emitted by two independent lasers. Here, we present an innovative design of the silicon-based hybrid integrated self-injection locking (SIL) laser chip that achieves high-frequency-stability operation with the frequency detuning between independent lasers suppressed to within 15 MHz, enabling high-visibility HOM interference in MDI-QKD. Leveraging this design, we experimentally demonstrate a loss-tolerant MDI-QKD system employing the setting-choice-independent correlation security framework explicitly accounting for state-preparation uncertainty. The system achieves a finite-key secret rate of 17 b/s under 34 dB channel loss (or 170-km standard fiber), surpassing previously reported MDI-QKD experiments that incorporated state preparation uncertainty under equivalent transmission loss conditions. Our result makes a promising contribution to practical applications of fully integrated quantum communication networks.