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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Optimized QKD BB84 protocol using quantum dense coding and CNOT gates: feasibility based on probabilistic optical devices

Amor Gueddana, Moez Attia, Rihab Chatta

Published May 1, 2014• 6 citations

Abstract

In this work, we simulate a fiber-based Quantum Key Distribution Protocol (QKDP) BB84 working at the telecoms wavelength 1550 nm with taking into consideration an optimized attack strategy. We consider in our work a quantum channel composed by probabilistic Single Photon Source (SPS), single mode optical Fiber and quantum detector with high efficiency. We show the advantages of using the Quantum Dots (QD) embedded in micro-cavity compared to the Heralded Single Photon Sources (HSPS). Second, we show that Eve is always getting some information depending on the mean photon number per pulse of the used SPS and therefore, we propose an optimized version of the QKDP BB84 based on Quantum Dense Coding (QDC) that could be implemented by quantum CNOT gates. We evaluate the success probability of implementing the optimized QKDP BB84 when using nowadays probabilistic quantum optical devices for circuit realization. We use for our modeling an abstract probabilistic model of a CNOT gate based on linear optical components and having a success probability of sqrt (4/27), we take into consideration the best SPSs realizations, namely the QD and the HSPS, generating a single photon per pulse with a success probability of 0.73 and 0.37, respectively. We show that the protocol is totally secure against attacks but could be correctly implemented only with a success probability of few percent.

DOI: 10.1117/12.2048809

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In this work, we simulate a fiber-based Quantum Key Distribution Protocol (QKDP) BB84 working at the telecoms wavelength 1550 nm with taking into consideration an optimized attack strategy. We consider in our work a quantum channel composed by probabilistic Single Photon Source (SPS), single mode optical Fiber and quantum detector with high efficiency. We show the advantages of using the Quantum Dots (QD) embedded in micro-cavity compared to the Heralded Single Photon Sources (HSPS). Second, we show that Eve is always getting some information depending on the mean photon number per pulse of the used SPS and therefore, we propose an optimized version of the QKDP BB84 based on Quantum Dense Coding (QDC) that could be implemented by quantum CNOT gates. We evaluate the success probability of implementing the optimized QKDP BB84 when using nowadays probabilistic quantum optical devices for circuit realization. We use for our modeling an abstract probabilistic model of a CNOT gate based on linear optical components and having a success probability of sqrt (4/27), we take into consideration the best SPSs realizations, namely the QD and the HSPS, generating a single photon per pulse with a success probability of 0.73 and 0.37, respectively. We show that the protocol is totally secure against attacks but could be correctly implemented only with a success probability of few percent.

The authors present a comparison between the basic BB84 Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and its optimised version based on Quantum Dense Coding, in terms of theoretical modelling and feasibility of circuits implementations. These circuits are mainly composed of probabilistic quantum gates, single photon sources, beam splitters (BSs), polarising BS and single photon detectors. They assume that the photonic devices composing the circuits are not perfect. They assess the average success probabilities of the two protocols depending on the success probability of the photonic sources used and the distance between Alice and Bob. They demonstrate that typical real‐world photonic devices permit the implementation of secure communication with 0.65 of success probability over 120 km, while it could reach more than 0.9 over 148 km if just deterministic sources are provided.

Abstract The BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol sets the foundation for achieving secure communication against quantum threats. Since its inception, significant advancements have aimed towards frugal experimental implementations with enhanced security. In this paper, we report a passive polarization encoded BB84 protocol. By passively and randomly encoding the polarization states, the setup avoids active modulation and simplifies design with security standards analogous to entanglement-based QKD. The heralding of a probabilistic single-photon source ensures an extremely low probability of multi-photon emissions evading photon number-splitting attacks. The quality of the single-photon source and thus, the QKD setup is certified by the second-order correlation function, g (2) (0) = 0.006 ± 0.0002. Our protocol provides an optimisation trade-off between the conventional BB84 and the BBM92 protocol. The advantage relies on using fewer detectors (compared to the BBM92 protocol) and no reliance on active quantum random number generators (compared to the standard BB84) to drive Alice’s encoding scheme. Our implementation achieves a quantum bit error rate of 7% and a secure key rate of 5 kbps.

Despite technically successful experiments, most of current quantum key distribution (QKD) systems based on the original BB84 protocols are insecure. The reason is the usage of weak coherent pulses (WCP) as pseudo single photon source (SPS), which allows an eavesdropper to get full information on the key in presence of high optical losses on the transmission channel. To overcome this problem, we have developed a pulse heralded single photon source (HSPS), which we have used for QKD over 40 km of fiber.

Deterministic solid-state quantum light sources are key building blocks in photonic quantum technologies. While several proof-of-principle experiments of quantum communication using such sources have been realized, all of them required bulky setups. Here, we evaluate for the first time the performance of a compact and stand-alone fiber-coupled single-photon source emitting in the telecom O-band (

1321\,

nm) for its application in quantum key distribution (QKD). For this purpose, we developed a compact 19'' rack module including a deterministically fiber-coupled quantum dot single-photon source integrated into a Stirling cryocooler, a pulsed diode laser for driving the quantum dot, and a fiber-based spectral filter. We further employed this compact quantum light source in a QKD testbed designed for polarization coding via the BB84 protocol resulting in

g^{(2)}(0) = 0.10\pm0.01

and a raw key rate of up to

(4.72\pm0.13)\,

kHz using an external laser for excitation. In this setting we investigate the achievable performance expected in full implementations of QKD. Using 2D temporal filtering on receiver side, we evaluate optimal parameter settings for different QKD transmission scenarios taking also finite key size effects into account. Using optimized parameter sets for the temporal acceptance time window, we predict a maximal tolerable loss of

23.19\,

dB. Finally, we compare our results to previous QKD systems using quantum dot single-photon sources. Our study represents an important step forward in the development of fiber-based quantum-secured communication networks exploiting sub-Poissonian quantum light sources.

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a potential defense against future quantum attacks that can break traditional encryption algorithms, such as RSA and ECC. The current work is based on the development of the BB84 protocol with the features of utilizing quantum mechanics and eavesdropping detection through signal disturbance. A simulation of the BB84 protocol was built using polarization encoding over a 10 km single-mode optical fiber using OptiSystem software. The system consists of standard telecom equipment, such as a continuous wave laser at a frequency of 193.1 THz, polarization controllers, and single-photon detectors. Both secure and insecure cases were simulated, where an attacker (Eve) had used an intercept-resend attack. The outcome showed significant Bit Error Rate (BER) and Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER) increases during attacks, thus proving the protocol's vulnerability to interference. In addition, a special intrusion detection system based on BER was used to identify such anomalies in real-time. The simulation illustrates the feasibility of using QKD in today's optical networks to secure communications.