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Optics Express

Field trial of a quantum secured 10 Gb/s DWDM transmission system over a single installed fiber

Iris Choi, Yu Rong Zhou, J. F. Dynes, Zhiliang L. Yuan, Andreas Klar, A. W. Sharpe, Alan Plews, Marco Lucamarini, Christian Radig, Jörg Neubert, Helmut Grießer, Michael Eiselt, Christopher J. Chunnilall, Guillaume Lepert, Alastair G. Sinclair, Jörg-Peter Elbers, Andrew Lord, Andrew J. Shields

Published Sep 15, 2014• 91 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present results from the first field-trial of a quantum-secured DWDM transmission system, in which quantum key distribution (QKD) is combined with 4 × 10 Gb/s encrypted data and transmitted simultaneously over 26 km of field installed fiber. QKD is used to frequently refresh the key for AES-256 encryption of the 10 Gb/s data traffic. Scalability to over 40 DWDM channels is analyzed.

DOI
10.1364/oe.22.023121

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We present results from the first field-trial of a quantum-secured DWDM transmission system, in which quantum key distribution (QKD) is combined with 4 × 10 Gb/s encrypted data and transmitted simultaneously over 26 km of field installed fiber. QKD is used to frequently refresh the key for AES-256 encryption of the 10 Gb/s data traffic. Scalability to over 40 DWDM channels is analyzed.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides an attractive means for securing communications in optical fibre networks. However, deployment of the technology has been hampered by the frequent need for dedicated dark fibres to segregate the very weak quantum signals from conventional traffic. Up until now the coexistence of QKD with data has been limited to bandwidths that are orders of magnitude below those commonly employed in fibre optic communication networks. Using an optimised wavelength divisional multiplexing scheme, we transport QKD and the prevalent 100 Gb/s data format in the forward direction over the same fibre for the first time. We show a full quantum encryption system operating with a bandwidth of 200 Gb/s over a 100 km fibre. Exploring the ultimate limits of the technology by experimental measurements of the Raman noise, we demonstrate it is feasible to combine QKD with 10 Tb/s of data over a 50 km link. These results suggest it will be possible to integrate QKD and other quantum photonic technologies into high bandwidth data communication infrastructures, thereby allowing their widespread deployment.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) coexisting with ultra-high-capacity classical optical signals over the same fiber is widely regarded as a cornerstone of future quantum-safe networks. This approach eliminates the need for dedicated fibers for QKD, significantly reducing infrastructure costs and facilitating large-scale deployment. As a promising foundation for next-generation high-capacity optical networks, multi-core fiber (MCF) opens new possibilities for such coexistence, offering an elegant and spectrum-efficient solution for the integration of quantum and classical channels. Here, we report the first field trial of QKD securely coexisting with bidirectional 106.7 Tb/s full-C-band dense wavelength-division-multiplexed coherent classical transmission over 25.2 km of installed standard-cladding diameter (125 μm) uncoupled-core four-core fiber in L'Aquila, Italy. Despite a classical launch power of 20 dBm per core, a secure key rate of 1.7 kb/s was achieved, using a commercial QKD system. We used the secure keys to achieve real-time encryption of up to 132 Gb/s live traffic within a 400 Gb/s channel, with key refresh intervals as short as 15 seconds. We used hardware encryption, introducing only 52 μs end-to-end latency and jitter below 4 μs compared to the unencrypted case. These results represent a major milestone toward practical, secure, and scalable integration of quantum and classical communication over deployed metropolitan multi-core fiber infrastructure.
We report co-propagation experiments of the quantum channel (at 1310 nm) of a Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system with Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) data channels in the 1550 nm range. Two configurations are assessed. The first one is a single span configuration where various lengths of Standard Single Mode Fiber (SSMF) (from 20 to 70 km) are used and the total WDM channels power is varied. The Secure Key Rate (SKR) and the Quantum Bit Error Ratio (QBER) are recorded showing that up to ∼17 dBm total power of 30 or 60 channels at 100 Gb/s can coexist with the quantum channel. A metric to evaluate the co-propagation efficiency is also proposed to better evaluate the ability of a QKD system to provide secure keys in a co-propagation regime. The second experiment is a three spans link with a cascade of three QKD systems and two trusted nodes in a 184 km total link length. We report the transmission of a coherent 400 Gb/s Dual Polarization DP-16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) channel that transports a QKD secured 100 GbE data stream, with other fifty-four 100 Gb/s WDM channels. Encryption is demonstrated at the same time as co-propagation.
We demonstrate quantum key distribution (QKD) with bidirectional 10 Gb/s classical data channels in a single fiber using dense wavelength division multiplexing. Record secure key rates of 2.38 Mbps and fiber distances up to 70 km are achieved. Data channels are simultaneously monitored for error-free operation. The robustness of QKD is further demonstrated with a secure key rate of 445 kbps over 25 km, obtained in the presence of data lasers launching conventional 0 dBm power. We discuss the fundamental limit for the QKD performance in the multiplexing environment.