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Quantum Information and Measurement (QIM)

Handheld Quantum Key Distribution

Gwenaëlle Mélen, Peter Freiwang, Jannik Luhn, Tobias Vogl, Markus Rau, Clemens Sonnleitner, Wenjamin Rosenfeld, Harald Weinfurter

Published Jan 1, 2017• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present Quantum Key Distribution in handheld operation over short distances between a mobile integrated sender unit and a tracking receiver, achieving, with a QBER below 2%, a secure bit rate of several 10 kBit/s.
DOI
10.1364/qim.2017.qt6a.57

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Mobile devices have become an inseparable part of our everyday life. They are used to transmit an ever-increasing amount of sensitive health, financial and personal information. This exposes us to the growing scale and sophistication of cyber-attacks. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can provide unconditional and future-proof data security but implementing it for handheld mobile devices comes with specific challenges. To establish security, secret keys of sufficient length need to be transmitted during the time of a handheld transaction (~1s) despite device misalignment, ambient light and user's inevitable hand movements. Transmitters and receivers should ideally be compact and low-cost, while avoiding security loopholes. Here we demonstrate the first QKD transmission from a handheld transmitter with a key-rate large enough to overcome finite key effects. Using dynamic beam-steering, reference-frame-independent encoding and fast indistinguishable pulse generation, we obtain a secret key rate above 30kb/s over a distance of 0.5m under ambient light conditions.
Mobile devices have become an inseparable part of our everyday life. They are used to transmit an ever-increasing amount of sensitive health, financial and personal information. This exposes us to the growing scale and sophistication of cyber-attacks. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can provide unconditional and future-proof data security but implementing it for handheld mobile devices comes with specific challenges. To establish security, secret keys of sufficient length need to be transmitted during the time of a handheld transaction (~1s) despite device misalignment, ambient light and user's inevitable hand movements. Transmitters and receivers should ideally be compact and low-cost, while avoiding security loopholes. Here we demonstrate the first QKD transmission from a handheld transmitter with a key-rate large enough to overcome finite key effects. Using dynamic beam-steering, reference-frame-independent encoding and fast indistinguishable pulse generation, we obtain a secret key rate above 30kb/s over a distance of 0.5m.
Unlike currently implemented encryption schemes, Quantum Key Distribution provides a secure way of generating and distributing a key among two parties. Although a multitude of research platforms has been developed, the integration of QKD units within classical communication systems remains a tremendous challenge. The recently achieved maturity of integrated photonic technologies could be exploited to create miniature QKD add-ons that could extend the primary function of various existing systems such as mobile devices or optical stations. In this work we report on an integrated optics module enabling secure short-distance communication for, e.g., quantum access schemes. Using BB84-like protocols, Alice's mobile low-cost device can exchange secure key and information everywhere within a trusted node network. The new optics platform (35×20×8mm) compatible with current smartphone's technology generates NIR faint polarised laser pulses with 100MHz repetition rate. Fully automated beam tracking and live basis-alignment on Bob's side ensure user-friendly operation with a quantum link efficiency as high as 50% stable over a few seconds.