IEEE East-West Design & Test Symposium (EWDTS)
Length Limiting of Quantum Key Distribution at Two-Stage Synchronization
Konstantin E. Rumyantsev, H. H.-Sh. Shakir
Abstract
The synchronization subsystem is investigated for the quantum key distribution (QKD), where photon pulses are used as sync signals. The analyzed two-stage synchronization algorithm is based on the fact that the pulse-repetition period and the duration of the optical sync signals are known. Analytical expressions are obtained that establish the functional relationship between the energy parameters and probability characteristics of the single-photon synchronization subsystem, and the parameters of an optical fiber, a transmitting optical module, and a single-photon avalanche photodiode (SPAD). The requirements for the choice of the steps number in the search stage and the allowable tests number that guarantee the maximum length of the communication line are formulated. It is shown that for actually used single-photon avalanche photodiodes, the length of the fiber-optic line is limited due to the frequency of generation of dark current pulses (DCP)by a value of 51 km with a synchronization error probability of 0.05.