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arXiv:2403.02585

High-Rate 16-node quantum access network based on passive optical network

Yan Pan, Yiming Bian, Yang Li, Xuesong Xu, Li Ma, Heng Wang, Yujie Luo, Jiayi Dou, Yaodi Pi, Jie Yang, Wei Huang, Song Yu, Stefano Pirandola, Yichen Zhang, Bingjie Xu

Published Mar 5, 2024• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum key distribution can provide information-theoretical secure communication, which is now heading towards building the quantum secure network for real-world applications. In most built quantum secure networks, point-to-multipoint (PTMP) topology is one of the most popular schemes, especially for quantum access networks. However, due to the lack of custom protocols with high secret key rate and compatible with classical optical networks for PTMP scheme, there is still no efficient way for a high-performance quantum access network with a multitude of users. Here, we report an experimental demonstration of a high-rate 16-nodes quantum access network based on passive optical network, where a high-efficient coherent-state PTMP protocol is novelly designed to allow independent secret key generation between one transmitter and multiple receivers concurrently. Such accomplishment is attributed to a well-designed real-time shot-noise calibration method, a series of advanced digital signal processing algorithms and a flexible post-processing strategy with high success probability. Finally, the experimental results show that the average secret key rate is around 2.086 Mbps between the transmitter and each user, which is two orders of magnitude higher than previous demonstrations. With the advantages of low cost, excellent compatibility, and wide bandwidth, our work paves the way for building practical PTMP quantum access networks, thus constituting an important step towards scalable quantum secure networks.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2403.02585

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Quantum key distribution can provide information-theoretical secure communication, which is now heading towards building the quantum secure network for real-world applications. In most built quantum secure networks, point-to-multipoint (PTMP) topology is one of the most popular schemes, especially for quantum access networks. However, due to the lack of custom protocols with high secret key rate and compatible with classical optical networks for PTMP scheme, there is still no efficient way for a high-performance quantum access network with a multitude of users. Here, we report an experimental demonstration of a high-rate 16-nodes quantum access network based on passive optical network, where a high-efficient coherent-state PTMP protocol is novelly designed to allow independent secret key generation between one transmitter and multiple receivers concurrently. Such accomplishment is attributed to a well-designed real-time shot-noise calibration method, a series of advanced digital signal processing algorithms and a flexible post-processing strategy with high success probability. Finally, the experimental results show that the average secret key rate is around 2.086 Mbps between the transmitter and each user, which is two orders of magnitude higher than previous demonstrations. With the advantages of low cost, excellent compatibility, and wide bandwidth, our work paves the way for building practical PTMP quantum access networks, thus constituting an important step towards scalable quantum secure networks.
Quantum key distribution offers information-theoretic security and is advancing toward real-world quantum secure networks. To meet the growing demand for scalable solutions, we present a high-rate quantum access network (QAN) with 16 user nodes based on a passive optical network, where a highly efficient coherent-state point-to-multipoint (PTMP) protocol is designed for concurrent independent secret key generation between one transmitter and multiple receivers. Such accomplishment is attributed to a subtle shot-noise calibration method, advanced digital signal processing algorithms, and a flexible post-processing strategy. Finally, the experimentally estimated average secret key rate is approximately 2.086 Mbps between the transmitter and each user, two orders of magnitude higher than previous demonstrations. With low cost, excellent compatibility, and wide bandwidth, our work paves the way for practical PTMP QANs, representing a key step toward scalable quantum secure networks.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) which enables information-theoretically security is now heading towards quantum secure networks. It requires high-performance and cost-effective protocols while increasing the number of users. Unfortunately, qubit-implemented protocols only allow one receiver to respond to the prepared signal at a time, thus cannot support multiple users natively and well satisfy the network demands. Here, we show a 'protocol solution' using continuous-variable quantum information. A coherent-state point-to-multipoint protocol is proposed to simultaneously support multiple independent QKD links between a single transmitter and massive receivers. Every prepared coherent state is measured by all receivers to generate raw keys, then processed with a secure and high-efficient key distillation method to remove the correlations between different QKD links. It can achieve remarkably high key rates even with a hundred of access points and shows the potential improvement of two orders of magnitude. This scheme is a promising step towards a high-rate multi-user solution in a scalable quantum secure network.
To accommodate classical communication systems with progressively increasing transmission rates, quantum access networks (QAN) have undergone systematic and protocol-level optimizations in recent years, where quantum passive optical network (QPON) architectures are gaining significant attention due to their simple structure. It is challenging for the previous QAN based on active protocols or Stokes operator coding protocols to achieve high-speed linear modulation with high extinction ratio and stability under practical conditions. In this work, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a downstream fully passive quantum access network protocol using passive state preparation (PSP) with free-space and single-mode fiber hybrid channels, and the final key generation rate is up to a record-breaking 19.48 Mbps per quantum network unit. The proposed PSP-QPON scheme extends the scope of PSP-CVQKD from point-to-point to point-to-multi-point networks, which enables high-key-rate, high-stability, and low-resource-consumption implementation. Moreover, the network channel in this experiment is fully compatible with access networks in classical optical communications, which allows integration with existing optical infrastructure without the need for additional modifications, providing a promising solution for local area network quantum access network at home or a mobile terminal.
To establish a scalable and secure quantum network, a critical milestone is advancing from basic point-to-point quantum key distribution (QKD) systems to the development of inherently multi-user protocols designed to maximize network capacity. Here, we propose a quantum passive optical network (QPON) protocol based on continuous-variable (CV) systems, particularly the quadrature of the coherent state, which enables deterministic, simultaneous, and high-rate secret key generation among all network users. We implement two protocols with different trust levels assigned to the network users and experimentally demonstrate key generation in a quantum access network with 8 users, each with an 11 km span of access link. Depending on the trust assumptions about the users, we reach 1.5 and 2.1 Mbits/s of total network key generation (or 0.4 and 1.0 Mbits/s with finite-size channels estimation). Demonstrating the potential to expand the network's capacity to accommodate tens of users at a high rate, our CV-QPON protocols open up new possibilities in establishing low-cost, high-rate, and scalable secure quantum access networks serving as a stepping stone towards a quantum internet.