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Optical Fiber Communication Conference

Fiber Lasers for Secure Key Distribution

Jacob Scheuer

Published Feb 1, 2008• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study a new concept for secure key distribution based on establishing laser oscillations between sender and receiver. The eavesdropping difficulty can be increased arbitrarily, making it an intriguing alternative to quantum key distribution systems.
DOI
10.1109/ofc.2008.4528459

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We propose and analyze a new concept for secure key distribution based on establishing laser oscillations between the sender and receiver. Compared to quantum mechanics based systems, our scheme allows for significantly higher key-establishing rates and longer ranges. By properly designing the laser structure, it is possible to increase the difficulty of eavesdropping almost arbitrarily, thus making our scheme an intriguing alternative and a complementary technology to quantum key-distribution systems.
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The security of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems relies on the physical integrity of their components. While laser-damage attacks (LDAs) using high-power continuous-wave (cw) lasers have been well studied, the threat posed by pulsed lasers at alternative wavelengths remains underestimated. Here, we experimentally investigated the stability of four types of fiber-optic attenuators under exposure to sub-picosecond pulses at 1061 nm with average power reaching 1 W. Mechanical variable attenuators with blocking elements and fixed air-gap attenuators show resistance to this attack. MEMS-based variable attenuators exhibit increased attenuation or irreversible damage that causes a permanent reduction in attenuation of approximately 3.8 dB. For fixed attenuators with an absorption element, we demonstrate that initial pulsed irradiation significantly lowers the optical damage threshold of the components compared to direct cw attacks. The attenuation reduction achieved is up to 7 dB at a 1 W cw laser at 1550 nm. These results highlight the possibility of establishing a hidden side-channel for eavesdropping attacks and underscore the insufficiency of existing countermeasures against sophisticated LDA scenarios.