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Electronics Letters

Secure key distribution system based on quantumcryptography

Paul D. Townsend

Published May 12, 1994• 117 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The secure transmission of cryptographic keys is demonstrated over a 10 km-long optical fibre channel using a technique called ‘quantum cryptography’. Single-photon detector noise and nonideal modulator frequency response lead to error rates of ~6% in the transmitted keys that are corrected using publicly agreed key permutations and parity checks.

DOI
10.1049/el:19940558

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Our system is based upon a Mach-Zender interferometer using phase modulation. Photons are generated by a 1.55 pm DFB pulsed laser diode operating with a repetition rate of 2 MHz. The pulses are strongly attenuated so that on average 0. I photons/clock cycle leaves the senders apparatus. Phase modulators. controlled by custom electronics, in the two interfering arms were used to encode the bit information. The signal is multiplexed with pulses from a 1.3 pm clock laser which serves as a timing reference. Cooled InGaAs avalanche photodiodes operating in Geiger mode are used to detect the single photons. It is imperative for operation over long fibres that the dark count rate in the single photon detector is as low as possible. Our detectors typically have a dark count probability of 3.2~10.~ er gate, along with a detection efficiency of 12% at 1.55 pm. This yields a Noise Equivalent Power of I .OXIO-'~ WHz- , whcch IS one of the lowest reported to date. R ' . The interferometer displayed a single photon interference fringe visibility between 99.1% and 99.7% for fibre lengths up to 65km. For longer fibre lengths the visibility falls, but remains around 96% at IOlkm, see Figure 1. The QBER, shown in Figure 2, remains virtually constant at around 3.6% for fibre length up to 50km, suggesting that the dominant contribution derives from inaccuracy in the phase modulation. Beyond 50km the QBER increases with fibre length, due to dark count noise. At 101 km, the QBER averaged over a 2-minute key transfer is typically 7. I %. This error rate is below the 1 I .5% limit, thus allowing us to perform error correction and privacy amplification to form a secure key. The sifted bit rate (shown in Figure 2) decreases with increasing fibre length at a rate of -0.20 dB/km, close to the specified value. At IOOkm the average bit rate was typically 15 Hz, sufficient to allow a cryptographic key to be transferred in several tens of seconds. 100

•Jan 1, 2003•0 citations
The secure transmission of cryptographic keys is demonstrated over a 10 km-long optical fibre channel using a technique called ‘quantum cryptography’. Single-photon detector noise and nonideal modulator frequency response lead to error rates of ~6% in the transmitted keys that are corrected using publicly agreed key permutations and parity checks.
The secure distribution of the secret random bit sequences known as ‘key’ material, is an essential precursor to their use for the encryption and decryption of confidential communications. Quantum cryptography is a new technique for secure key distribution with single-photon transmissions: Heisenberg's uncertainty principle ensures that an adversary can neither successfully tap the key transmissions, nor evade detection (eavesdropping raises the key error rate above a threshold value). We have developed experimental quantum cryptography systems based on the transmission of non-orthogonal photon states to generate shared key material over multikilometre optical fibre paths and over line-of-sight links. In both cases, key material is built up using the transmission of a single-photon per bit of an initial secret random sequence. A quantum-mechanically random subset of this sequence is identified, becoming the key material after a data reconciliation stage with the sender. Here we report the most recent results of our optical fibre experiment in which we have performed quantum key distribution over a 48 km optical fibre network at Los Alamos using photon interference states with the B92 and BB84 quantum key distribution protocols.
The secure distribution of the secret random bit sequences known as {open_quotes}key{close_quotes} material, is an essential precursor to their use for the encryption and decryption of confidential communications. Quantum cryptography is an emerging technology for secure key distribution with single-photon transmissions, nor evade detection (eavesdropping raises the key error rate above a threshold value). We have developed experimental quantum cryptography systems based on the transmission of non-orthogonal single-photon states to generate shared key material over multi-kilometer optical fiber paths and over line-of-sight links. In both cases, key material is built up using the transmission of a single-photon per bit of an initial secret random sequence. A quantum-mechanically random subset of this sequence is identified, becoming the key material after a data reconciliation stage with the sender. In our optical fiber experiment we have performed quantum key distribution over 24-km of underground optical fiber using single-photon interference states, demonstrating that secure, real-time key generation over {open_quotes}open{close_quotes} multi-km node-to-node optical fiber communications links is possible. We have also constructed a quantum key distribution system for free-space, line-of-sight transmission using single-photon polarization states, which is currently undergoing laboratory testing. 7 figs.
The secure distribution of the secret random bit sequences known as `key' material, is an essential precursor to their use for the encryption and decryption of confidential communications. Quantum cryptography is an emerging technology for secure key distribution with single-photon transmissions: Heisenburg's uncertainty principle ensures that an adversary can neither successfully tap the key transmissions, nor evade detection (eavesdropping raises the key error rate above a threshold value). We have developed experimental quantum cryptography systems based on the transmission of non-orthogonal single-photon states to generate shared key material over multi-kilometer optical fiber paths and over line-of-sight links. In both cases, key material is built up using the transmission of a single- photon per bit of an initial secret random sequence. A quantum-mechanically random subset of this sequence is identified, becoming the key material after a data reconciliation stage with the sender. In our optical fiber experiment we have performed quantum key distribution over 24-km of underground optical fiber using single-photon interference states, demonstrating that secure, real-time key generation over `open' multi-km node-to-node optical fiber communications links is possible.
Our system is based upon a Mach-Zender interferometer using phase modulation. Photons are generated by a 1.55 pm DFB pulsed laser diode operating with a repetition rate of 2 MHz. The pulses are strongly attenuated so that on average 0. I photons/clock cycle leaves the senders apparatus. Phase modulators. controlled by custom electronics, in the two interfering arms were used to encode the bit information. The signal is multiplexed with pulses from a 1.3 pm clock laser which serves as a timing reference. Cooled InGaAs avalanche photodiodes operating in Geiger mode are used to detect the single photons. It is imperative for operation over long fibres that the dark count rate in the single photon detector is as low as possible. Our detectors typically have a dark count probability of 3.2~10.~ er gate, along with a detection efficiency of 12% at 1.55 pm. This yields a Noise Equivalent Power of I .OXIO-'~ WHz- , whcch IS one of the lowest reported to date. R ' . The interferometer displayed a single photon interference fringe visibility between 99.1% and 99.7% for fibre lengths up to 65km. For longer fibre lengths the visibility falls, but remains around 96% at IOlkm, see Figure 1. The QBER, shown in Figure 2, remains virtually constant at around 3.6% for fibre length up to 50km, suggesting that the dominant contribution derives from inaccuracy in the phase modulation. Beyond 50km the QBER increases with fibre length, due to dark count noise. At 101 km, the QBER averaged over a 2-minute key transfer is typically 7. I %. This error rate is below the 1 I .5% limit, thus allowing us to perform error correction and privacy amplification to form a secure key. The sifted bit rate (shown in Figure 2) decreases with increasing fibre length at a rate of -0.20 dB/km, close to the specified value. At IOOkm the average bit rate was typically 15 Hz, sufficient to allow a cryptographic key to be transferred in several tens of seconds. 100