We introduce a quantum key distribution scheme based on four-photon coincidence measurements. This scheme offers a much higher degree of security than current quantum key distribution methods and minimizes problems due to photon losses and dark counts.
We report the first quantum key distribution (QKD) experiment over a 72 dB channel loss using superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SSPD, SNSPD) with the dark count rate (DCR) of 0.01 cps. The DCR of the SSPD, which is dominated by the blackbody radiation at room temperature, is blocked by introducing cold optical bandpass filter. We employ the differential phase shift QKD (DPS-QKD) scheme with a 1 GHz system clock rate. The quantum bit error rate (QBER) below 3% is achieved when the length of the dispersion shifted fiber (DSF) is 336 km (72 dB loss), which is low enough to generate secure keys.
We introduce a novel time-frequency quantum key distribution (TFQKD) scheme based on photon pairs entangled in these two conjugate degrees of freedom. The scheme uses spectral detection and phase modulation to enable measurements in the temporal basis by means of time-to-frequency conversion. This allows large-alphabet encoding to be implemented with realistic components. A general security analysis for TFQKD with binned measurements reveals a close connection with finite-dimensional QKD protocols and enables analysis of the effects of dark counts on the secure key size.
Optimization of Quantum Measurements for Robustness Against Dark Counts: The D-Trace Optimality Framework
Quantum communication, while promising unparalleled security, faces significant practical challenges due to imperfections in quantum devices, particularly in single-photon detectors (SPDs). One of the key issues is the impact of dark counts, which cause erroneous detections and limit the effective range of quantum communication systems, such as in quantum key distribution (QKD). In this paper, we introduce a novel framework for addressing dark count errors through a new optimality criterion, termed D-trace optimality. This criterion aims to optimize quantum measurements to minimize the impact of dark counts without relying on hardware replacements. We propose an optimization scheme that transforms general measurements into D-trace optimal measurements, ensuring robustness against dark count effects. Our results suggest that, under certain conditions, this approach can improve the performance of quantum communication systems, especially in scenarios where the prior distribution of states is known. Although challenges remain in obtaining accurate prior distributions and ensuring compatibility with other strategies. This work lays the foundation for future research on optimizing quantum measurements to mitigate the effects of noise, including dark counts, in practice.