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Integrating QKD in telecommunication networks

Vicente Martín Ayuso, Daniel Lancho Lancho, Jesús Martínez-Mateo, David Elkouss, M. Soto

Published Jan 1, 2010• 1 citation
OpenAlex

Abstract

To date, QKD development has mostly focused in non-shared point-to-point links. Despite its limitations, this is the only technology commercially available today, and this makes it even more expensive and not easily deployable. The integration of QKD with the commercial network infrastructure would open the possibility of a scalable deployment and without requiring a massive initial investment QKD could reach a broader market. Current metro area networks are evolving towards optical, passive infrastructures and this opens up a good window of opportunity for QKD integration, since an all-optical clear path among two points in the network is no longer unfeasible or extremely expensive. However, the simultaneous propagation of quantum and classical signals over a shared link poses important problems due to the spilling of photons coming from classical signals. In this talk I’ll present current architectures for all optical metro networks and discuss our results in the integration of QKD in commercial networks

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To date, QKD development has mostly focused in non-shared point-to-point links. Despite its limitations, this is the only technology commercially available today, and this makes it even more expensive and not easily deployable. The integration of QKD with the commercial network infrastructure would open the possibility of a scalable deployment and without requiring a massive initial investment QKD could reach a broader market. Current metro area networks are evolving towards optical, passive infrastructures and this opens up a good window of opportunity for QKD integration, since an all-optical clear path among two points in the network is no longer unfeasible or extremely expensive. However, the simultaneous propagation of quantum and classical signals over a shared link poses important problems due to the spilling of photons coming from classical signals. In this talk I’ll present current architectures for all optical metro networks and discuss our results in the integration of QKD in commercial networks
In order to deploy QKD in a cost effective and scalable way, its integration with already installed optical networks is a logical step. If, for the sake of security, we require that no intermediate trusted nodes would be needed, the maximum distance/absorptions allowed by QKD systems limit ourselves to metropolitan area networks. Current metro networks are mostly all optical and passive, hence a transparent link can be established among any two points and this link can be used to transport the quantum channel. In this poster we report on our findings studying the problems arising when integrating QKD systems in standard telecommunications networks.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) systems have already reached a reasonable level of maturity. However, a smooth integration and a wide adoption of commercial QKD systems in metropolitan area networks has still remained challenging because of technical and economical obstacles. Mainly the need for dedicated fibers and the strong dependence of the secret key rate on both loss budget and background noise in the quantum channel hinder a practical, flexible and robust implementation of QKD in current and next-generation optical metro networks. In this paper, we discuss these obstacles and present approaches to share existing fiber infrastructures among quantum and classical channels. Particularly, a proposal for a smooth integration of QKD in optical metro networks, which implies removing spurious background photons caused by optical transmitters, amplifiers and nonlinear effects in fibers, is presented and discussed. We determine and characterize impairments on quantum channels caused by many classical telecom channels at practically used power levels coexisting within the same fiber. Extensive experimental results are presented and indicate that a practical integration of QKD in conventional optical metro networks is possible.
As a promising quantum application, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology has been rapidly developed from point-to-point communication to a large-scale commercial network. However, considering the cost of QKD components and network infrastructure, building a QKD network is challenged by its expensive capital expenditure, which significantly hinders its future popularization. In this article, we envision an evolution roadmap consisting of three stages for the future development of QKD networks, aiming at achieving a fully integrated network architecture that combines QKD and telecommunications networks. Powered by several critical technologies, such as link multiplexing, miniaturized QKD, and transmission optimization, QKD is foreseen to be integrated into telecommunications networks as an add-on module that can be flexibly deployed. After that, we introduce the integrated network architecture design in detail, and respectively provide four QKD-related function implementations. At last, key technologies that should be concerned and further investigated are also discussed with performance evaluation, which can provide theoretical guidance for both industries and academia. Based on the proposed roadmap and integrated architecture, we believe a scalable, easy-to-use, and affordable QKD service can be brought to current telecommunication networks, and extensively applied by ordinary people while using daily applications.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) systems have already reached a reasonable level of maturity. However, a smooth integration of commercial QKD systems in metropolitan area networks has still remained challenging because of technical and economical obstacles. Mainly the need for dedicated fibers and the strong dependence of the secret key rate on both loss budget and background noise in the quantum channel hinder a practical, flexible and robust implementation of QKD in current and next-generation optical metro networks. In this paper, we discuss these obstacles and present approaches to share existing fiber infrastructures among quantum and classical channels. Particularly, a proposal for a smooth integration of QKD in optical metro networks, which implies removing spurious background photons caused by lasers, amplifiers and nonlinear effects in optical fibers, is presented and discussed.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is maturing quickly. However, the current approaches to its network use require conditions that make it an expensive technology. All the QKD networks deployed to date are designed as a collection of dedicated point-to-point links that use the trusted repeater paradigm. Instead, we propose a novel network model in which QKD systems use simultaneously quantum and conventional signals that are wavelength multiplexed over a common communication infrastructure. Signals are transmitted end-to-end within a metropolitan area using optical components. The model resembles a commercial telecom network and takes advantage of existing components, thus allowing for a cost-effective and reliable deployment.