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Journal of Xidian University

Analysis of the effect of polarization mode dispersion on QKD

Yun-hui Yi

Published Jan 1, 2008• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Affected by PMD(Polarization Mode Dispersion),the polarization state of the single photon will be randomly and slowly altered during the transmission in the fiber.This increases the error probability at the receiving end.So a means for measuring the variance to the preprocess polarization state is required for the distribution of the quantum key.A sensor with balanced detection is introduced to the BB84 protocol and the theoretical model of the QBER(Quantum Bit Error Rate) is established with POVM(Positive Operator Valued Measurement).The variance of the polarization state is measured with the Wollaston prism and the error is eliminated for the dual channel.The angle tolerance of the Wollaston prism is 0.1° and the numerical analysis by the use of the QBER model shows the new protocol decreases the error rate to 3.05×10-6.

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Affected by PMD(Polarization Mode Dispersion),the polarization state of the single photon will be randomly and slowly altered during the transmission in the fiber.This increases the error probability at the receiving end.So a means for measuring the variance to the preprocess polarization state is required for the distribution of the quantum key.A sensor with balanced detection is introduced to the BB84 protocol and the theoretical model of the QBER(Quantum Bit Error Rate) is established with POVM(Positive Operator Valued Measurement).The variance of the polarization state is measured with the Wollaston prism and the error is eliminated for the dual channel.The angle tolerance of the Wollaston prism is 0.1° and the numerical analysis by the use of the QBER model shows the new protocol decreases the error rate to 3.05×10-6.
The polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in optical fibers poses a major challenge for maintaining the fidelity of quantum states for quantum communications. In this work, a comprehensive model linking the probability of quantum measurement errors (infidelity) to PMD is developed and validated by experimental measurements of differential group delay and quantum bit error rate (QBER). Our research proposes effective methods to mitigate PMD effects for broadband entangled photons and evaluates the impact of higher-order PMD effects. The model provides an experimentally verified framework for the optimization of commercial quantum key distribution systems in deployed fiber-optic lines.
In the BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol, the communicating parties do a quantum bit error rate (QBER) test to determine whether there is an eavesdropper trying to gain information about the secret key. However, the QBER is not only influenced by the eavesdropper’s strategies, but also by the imperfections of the physical devices and the channel through which the quantum states propagate. We developed a simple channel model with error parameters describing the channel and the potential polarization switching in the transmitter, to see how those effects influence the QBER in a polarization-qubit BB84 implementation. Certain well-defined probabilistic channel models are compared to see which is responsible for the highest error probability.
A phenomenological Hamiltonian of photons in single-mode stochastic fiber depending on the vector of random parameters is proposed. The time dynamics of single-photon density matrix in the basis of states with orthogonal polarizations is considered. The fiber-parameter-averaged quantum bit error rate (QBER) in a sifted quantum key distributed over the BB84 protocol using entangled polarization states of biphotons is found. It is shown that QBER can be significantly reduced even at large dispersions of random fiber parameters. To this end, identically fabricated fibers must be used for quantum channels A and B. The choice of pairs of fiber segments must be correlated, with a correlation coefficient close to unity. This approach is based on a remarkable property of the singlet biphoton state, which is “free of collective decoherence.” A correlated choice of fiber segments for channels A and B reduces significantly QBER, making its value below critical (i.e., equal to 0.11, a level below which a distributed key is accepted for cryptographic purposes).
The implementation of quantum communication protocols in long optical fibers is limited by several decoherence mechanisms. In this contribution we review this mechanisms and analysis their effect on the quantum states. Because of asymmetry in the real fibers, the two orthogonal polarization modes are propagated at different phase and group velocities. The difference in group velocities results in Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD). It is created by random fluctuations of the residual birefringence in optical fibers, such that the State of Polarization (SOP) of an optical signal will turn randomly over time, in an unpredictable way. In optical quantum communication, quantum state measurement is necessary. The bottleneck for communication between far apart nodes is the increasing of the error probability with the length of the channel connecting the nodes. For an optical fiber, the value of absorption and depolarization of a photon (i.e., the qubit) increases exponentially with the length of the fiber.
We study Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) in fiber-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) using a broadspectrum polarization-entangled photon source. We analyze wavelength-dependent polarization transformations over 10 km deployed fiber channels, with measurements spanning one year of evolution. By examining the rotation of polarization states on the Poincare sphere and projecting them along a PMD trajectory onto a predefined state within a measurement basis, we derived a simple new formula that accurately links the measurement error probability to finite signal bandwidth and the observed differential group delay (DGD). Finally, we propose strategies to mitigate the PMD effect for entangled-based QKD by optimizing the orientation of the measurement bases and by performing the optimal spectral filtering of the source.
Polarization Mode dispersion (PMD) in single-mode fibers is a common source of problems in quantum key distribution (QKD) as well as all optical communication. Donald S. Bethune and William P. Risk developed a PMD-free phase modulator which is a single port component. We found that it is also necessary to construct a dual-port component. In this report, we demonstrate how PMD affects our single-photon interference experiment, and give a proposal on developing a dual-port PMD-free integrated phase modulator. This new component can be used in QKD as well as in other optical fiber communication schemes. And it will make long-distance information exchange more stable and effective.