Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2407.03980 · Physical Review A

Practical asynchronous measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with advantage distillation

Di Luo, Xin Liu, Kaibiao Qin, Zhenrong Zhang, Kejin Wei

Published Aug 6, 2024• 16 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The advantage distillation (AD) method has proven effective in improving the performance of quantum key distribution (QKD). In this paper we introduce the AD method into a recently proposed asynchronous measurement-device-independent (AMDI) QKD protocol, taking finite-key effects into account. Simulation results show that the AD method significantly enhances AMDI QKD, e.g., extending the transmission distance by 16 km with a total pulse count of $N=7.24\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{13}$, and enables AMDI QKD, previously unable to generate keys, to generate keys with a misalignment error rate of $10%$. As the AD method can be directly integrated into the current system through refined postprocessing, our results facilitate the practical implementation of AMDI QKD in various applications, particularly in scenarios with high channel losses and misalignment errors.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.110.022605

Related papers

Phase-error-rate analysis for asynchronous measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Kaiyi Shi, Chen Yang, Haoyang Wang +4 more

Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a theoretically unconditionally secure key distribution method based on quantum mechanical principles. Currently, most QKD protocols encode information in the phase domain, making the phase error rate a crucial physical parameter for evaluating protocol performance. In phase-post-selected QKD protocols, the phase error rate depends on interference measurements within non-zero phase intervals, which introduce inherent errors unrelated to eavesdropping and consequently leads to overestimation of the phase error rate. Precise analysis of phase errors can effectively reduce the protocol’s phase error rate, thereby enhancing its performance. In previous work, phase error analysis methods were primarily applied to QKD protocols under asymptotic conditions. In this study, we extend this precise phase error analysis approach to the finite-key regime of asynchronous measurement-device-independent QKD (AMDI-QKD). The performance of the original and enhanced AMDI-QKD protocols was compared under different pulse intensities through numerical simulation, and the results indicate that, compared to the original AMDI-QKD, the enhanced AMDI-QKD protocol combined with precise error analysis can extend the transmission distance by nearly 20 km and effectively reduce the phase error rate.

Physica Scripta•Dec 1, 2025•0 citations

Improved model on asynchronous measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with realistic devices

Ming-Shuo Sun, Chunhui Zhang, Rui Zhang +3 more

Abstract In principle, the asynchronous measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (AMDI-QKD) can surpass the key rate capacity without phase tracking and phase locking. However, practical imperfections in sources or detections would dramatically depress its performance. Here, we present an improved model on AMDI-QKD to reduce the influence of these imperfections, including intensity fluctuation, the afterpulse effect, and the dead time of detectors. Furthermore, we carry out corresponding numerical simulations. Simulation results show that, by implementing our present work, it can have more than 100 km longer secure transmission distance and one order of magnitude enhancement in the key generation rate after 320 km compared with the standard method. Moreover, our model can still break the Pirandola–Laurenza–Ottaviani–Banchi (PLOB) bound even under realistic experimental conditions.

Chinese Physics B•Aug 30, 2024•2 citations

Reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution with advantage distillation

Jian-Rong Zhu, Chun-Mei Zhang, Rong Wang +1 more

Advantage distillation (AD) provides a means of separating highly correlated raw key bits from weakly correlated information in quantum key distribution (QKD). In this Letter, we apply the AD method to improve the performance of reference-frame-independent QKD (RFI-QKD). Simulation results show that, compared with RFI-QKD without AD, RFI-QKD with AD can tolerate higher system errors and obtain better performance on the secret key rate and transmission distance. Furthermore, we extend the AD method to RFI measurement-device-independent QKD (RFI-MDI-QKD) and demonstrate that the AD method can improve the performance of RFI-MDI-QKD more significantly.

Optics Letters•Dec 21, 2022•18 citations

Mode-pairing quantum key distribution with multi-step advantage distillation

Shizhuo Li, Xin Liu, Zhenrong Zhang +1 more

Abstract The advantage distillation (AD) technology has been proven to effectively improve the secret key rate and the communication distance of quantum key distribution (QKD). The mode-pairing quantum key distribution (MP-QKD) protocol can overcome a fundamental physical limit, known as the Pirandola–Laurenza–Ottaviani–Banchi bound, without requiring global phase-locking. In this work, we propose a method based on multi-step AD to further enhance the performance of MP-QKD. The simulation results show that, compared to one-step AD, multi-step AD achieves better performance in long-distance scenarios and can tolerate a higher quantum bit error rate. Specifically, when the difference between the communication distances from Alice and Bob to Charlie is 25 km, 50 km and 75 km, and the corresponding transmission distance exceeds 523 km, 512 km and 496 km, respectively, the secret key rate achieved by multi-step AD surpasses that of one-step AD. Our findings indicate that the proposed method can effectively promote the application of MP-QKD in scenarios with high loss and high error rate.

Chinese Physics B•Jul 28, 2025•2 citations

Asymmetric mode-pairing quantum key distribution with advantage distillation

Hai-Tao 海涛 Wang 汪, Chun Hua Zhou, Yi-Fei 宜飞 Lu 陆 +5 more

Abstract Mode-pairing quantum key distribution (MP-QKD) is an excellent scheme that can exceed the repeaterless rate-transmittance bound without complex phase locking. Nevertheless, MP-QKD usually needs to ensure that the communication distances of the two channels are equal. To address the problem, the asymmetric MP-QKD protocol is proposed. In this paper, we enhance the performance of the asymmetric MP-QKD protocol based on the advantage distillation (AD) method without modifying the quantum process. The simulation results show that the AD method can extend the communication distance by about 70 km in the case of asymmetry. And we observe that as the misalignment error increases, the AD method further increases the expandable communication distance. Our work can further enhance the robustness and promote the practical application of the asymmetric MP-QKD.

Chinese Physics B•Feb 28, 2025•4 citations

Asymmetric Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution through Advantage Distillation

Kailu Zhang, Jing-Yang Liu, Hua-Jian Ding +3 more

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) completely closes the security loopholes caused by the imperfection of devices at the detection terminal. Commonly, a symmetric MDI-QKD model is widely used in simulations and experiments. This scenario is far from a real quantum network, where the losses of channels connecting each user are quite different. To adapt such a feature, an asymmetric MDI-QKD model is proposed. How to improve the performance of asymmetric MDI-QKD also becomes an important research direction. In this work, an advantage distillation (AD) method is applied to further improve the performance of asymmetric MDI-QKD without changing the original system structure. Simulation results show that the AD method can improve the secret key rate and transmission distance, especially in the highly asymmetric cases. Therefore, this scheme will greatly promote the development of future MDI-QKD networks.

Entropy•Aug 7, 2023•10 citations
The advantage distillation (AD) method has proven effective in improving the performance of quantum key distribution (QKD). In this paper we introduce the AD method into a recently proposed asynchronous measurement-device-independent (AMDI) QKD protocol, taking finite-key effects into account. Simulation results show that the AD method significantly enhances AMDI QKD, e.g., extending the transmission distance by 16 km with a total pulse count of N=7.24\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi1013N=7.24\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{13}N=7.24\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi1013, and enables AMDI QKD, previously unable to generate keys, to generate keys with a misalignment error rate of 1010%10. As the AD method can be directly integrated into the current system through refined postprocessing, our results facilitate the practical implementation of AMDI QKD in various applications, particularly in scenarios with high channel losses and misalignment errors.
Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a theoretically unconditionally secure key distribution method based on quantum mechanical principles. Currently, most QKD protocols encode information in the phase domain, making the phase error rate a crucial physical parameter for evaluating protocol performance. In phase-post-selected QKD protocols, the phase error rate depends on interference measurements within non-zero phase intervals, which introduce inherent errors unrelated to eavesdropping and consequently leads to overestimation of the phase error rate. Precise analysis of phase errors can effectively reduce the protocol’s phase error rate, thereby enhancing its performance. In previous work, phase error analysis methods were primarily applied to QKD protocols under asymptotic conditions. In this study, we extend this precise phase error analysis approach to the finite-key regime of asynchronous measurement-device-independent QKD (AMDI-QKD). The performance of the original and enhanced AMDI-QKD protocols was compared under different pulse intensities through numerical simulation, and the results indicate that, compared to the original AMDI-QKD, the enhanced AMDI-QKD protocol combined with precise error analysis can extend the transmission distance by nearly 20 km and effectively reduce the phase error rate.
Abstract In principle, the asynchronous measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (AMDI-QKD) can surpass the key rate capacity without phase tracking and phase locking. However, practical imperfections in sources or detections would dramatically depress its performance. Here, we present an improved model on AMDI-QKD to reduce the influence of these imperfections, including intensity fluctuation, the afterpulse effect, and the dead time of detectors. Furthermore, we carry out corresponding numerical simulations. Simulation results show that, by implementing our present work, it can have more than 100 km longer secure transmission distance and one order of magnitude enhancement in the key generation rate after 320 km compared with the standard method. Moreover, our model can still break the Pirandola–Laurenza–Ottaviani–Banchi (PLOB) bound even under realistic experimental conditions.
Advantage distillation (AD) provides a means of separating highly correlated raw key bits from weakly correlated information in quantum key distribution (QKD). In this Letter, we apply the AD method to improve the performance of reference-frame-independent QKD (RFI-QKD). Simulation results show that, compared with RFI-QKD without AD, RFI-QKD with AD can tolerate higher system errors and obtain better performance on the secret key rate and transmission distance. Furthermore, we extend the AD method to RFI measurement-device-independent QKD (RFI-MDI-QKD) and demonstrate that the AD method can improve the performance of RFI-MDI-QKD more significantly.
Abstract The advantage distillation (AD) technology has been proven to effectively improve the secret key rate and the communication distance of quantum key distribution (QKD). The mode-pairing quantum key distribution (MP-QKD) protocol can overcome a fundamental physical limit, known as the Pirandola–Laurenza–Ottaviani–Banchi bound, without requiring global phase-locking. In this work, we propose a method based on multi-step AD to further enhance the performance of MP-QKD. The simulation results show that, compared to one-step AD, multi-step AD achieves better performance in long-distance scenarios and can tolerate a higher quantum bit error rate. Specifically, when the difference between the communication distances from Alice and Bob to Charlie is 25 km, 50 km and 75 km, and the corresponding transmission distance exceeds 523 km, 512 km and 496 km, respectively, the secret key rate achieved by multi-step AD surpasses that of one-step AD. Our findings indicate that the proposed method can effectively promote the application of MP-QKD in scenarios with high loss and high error rate.
Abstract Mode-pairing quantum key distribution (MP-QKD) is an excellent scheme that can exceed the repeaterless rate-transmittance bound without complex phase locking. Nevertheless, MP-QKD usually needs to ensure that the communication distances of the two channels are equal. To address the problem, the asymmetric MP-QKD protocol is proposed. In this paper, we enhance the performance of the asymmetric MP-QKD protocol based on the advantage distillation (AD) method without modifying the quantum process. The simulation results show that the AD method can extend the communication distance by about 70 km in the case of asymmetry. And we observe that as the misalignment error increases, the AD method further increases the expandable communication distance. Our work can further enhance the robustness and promote the practical application of the asymmetric MP-QKD.
Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) completely closes the security loopholes caused by the imperfection of devices at the detection terminal. Commonly, a symmetric MDI-QKD model is widely used in simulations and experiments. This scenario is far from a real quantum network, where the losses of channels connecting each user are quite different. To adapt such a feature, an asymmetric MDI-QKD model is proposed. How to improve the performance of asymmetric MDI-QKD also becomes an important research direction. In this work, an advantage distillation (AD) method is applied to further improve the performance of asymmetric MDI-QKD without changing the original system structure. Simulation results show that the AD method can improve the secret key rate and transmission distance, especially in the highly asymmetric cases. Therefore, this scheme will greatly promote the development of future MDI-QKD networks.