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IEEE Information Technology, Networking, Electronic and Automation Control Conference (ITNEC)

Design of FPGA-based Laser Light Source Control Module for Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution

Sijie Zhang, Hao Liang

Published May 5, 2020• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Compared with discrete variable quantum key distribution, the Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution (CVQKD) system has the advantages of simple equipment, low technical difficulty, and high channel capacity, in addition to unconditional security and detectability for wiretapping. In this paper, the laser light source control system realizes the control and adjustment functions of the photon quantum state, which was encoded with information. In order to generate the synchronous optical pulse signals, the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), multi-channel Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), and micro power Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) were used to control the synchronous optical laser. The control of multiple amplitude modulators and phase modulators is achieved based on the FPGA and high-speed DAC. At present, the electronics performance test of the laser light source control system has been completed, and the results show that the requirements of the CVQKD system index are met.

DOI
10.1109/itnec48623.2020.9084721

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Compared with discrete variable quantum key distribution, the Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution (CVQKD) system has the advantages of simple equipment, low technical difficulty, and high channel capacity, in addition to unconditional security and detectability for wiretapping. In this paper, the laser light source control system realizes the control and adjustment functions of the photon quantum state, which was encoded with information. In order to generate the synchronous optical pulse signals, the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), multi-channel Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), and micro power Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) were used to control the synchronous optical laser. The control of multiple amplitude modulators and phase modulators is achieved based on the FPGA and high-speed DAC. At present, the electronics performance test of the laser light source control system has been completed, and the results show that the requirements of the CVQKD system index are met.
Compared with discrete variable quantum key distribution, continuous variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) has the advantages of low cost, good stability, and high channel capacity, in addition to unconditional security and detectability for wiretapping. The basis of CVQKD system operation is the realization of loading information into photon quantum states. In this paper, a laser light source control system has realized the control and adjustment of the photon quantum states and completed the encoding of quantum states. In order to generate synchronous optical signals, FPGA, multi-channel DAC and micro power ADC are used to control the source of the synchronous optical laser. The control and modulation of multiple optical components are realized based on FPGA, multiple 16-bit 1.0 GSPS DACs and high-performance operational amplifiers. The electronic test results show that the system implements the control and adjustment functions of lasers, amplitude modulator, phase modulators, variable optical attenuators, polarization controllers, as well as detection of synchronized light. The performance of the laser light source control system fully meets the requirements of the CVQKD system.
The Continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) technique is one of the practical uses of quantum information technology. CVQKD system is implemented based on existing optical networks and standard telecommunication technologies. CVQKD can be put into use of the information transmission in city-based areas, within the extent of absolute security and without any restrictions of security. To reduce the experimental system to a commercial prototype, a data acquisition (DAQ) card can be used to replace the DAQ equipment in the laboratory. It can save the cost of the system experiment and commercial application. In this paper, through the high-speed DAQ card, we implement the collection and uploading of the electrical signal, when the light passes through the continuous optical coherent state detector. The whole experiment test system consists of a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) chip, and optical components. This paper provides a method of gain adjustment of the balanced homodyne detector and a way to test the π phase voltage of the optical modulator. The results show that the DAQ card can be used in the development of the CVQKD prototype.
A real-time quantum key distribution (QKD) system is developed in this paper. In the system, based on the feature of a field-programmable gate array, secure key extraction control and algorithm have been optimally designed to perform sifting, error correction, and privacy amplification altogether in real time. In the QKD experiment, information synchronization mechanism and high-speed classic data channel are designed to ensure the steady operation of the system. Decoy state and synchronous laser light source are used in the system, while the length of optical fiber between Alice and Bob is 20 km. With photons repetition frequency of 20 MHz, the final key rate could reach 17 kb/s. Smooth and robust operation is verified with 6 h continuous test and associated with encrypted voice communication test.
The continuous-variable quantum key distribution experimental system requires the randomness and speed of a Gaussian modulator. We present the hardware design for a Gaussian random number (GRN) generator based on the Box–Muller method, which can be implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). An external high-speed true random number generator application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is used to this end. The ASIC operates faster and more independently compared with other Gaussian algorithms based on a linear feedback shift register. The trigonometric and logarithmic functions are calculated using the nonuniform piecewise linear approximation. The calculation of the Gaussian random modulus and phase value is realized using this hardware. Compared with an arbitrary waveform generator, the GRN can be uploaded to a computer to estimate the security key rate. Furthermore, the GRN generator accurately provides a Gaussian probability density function that passes the Jarque–Bera inspection and Lilliefors tests. The proposed FPGA-based system is demonstrated to convert eight-channel 320-Mbps uniform random numbers to 40-MHz 16-bit GRN in real time. Finally, the control of the optical module and Gaussian modulation is realized via the FPGA-based outputs of four dual-channel, 16-bit, 1-giga samples per second digital-to-analog converters.
Aiming at the problem that the current Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) cannot simultaneously meet the high-speed and real-time requirements of random number generation in quantum key distribution communication, this paper improves the QRNG scheme based on pulse laser as light source to extract phase information. The random phase information is converted into light intensity information by single-mode Michelson interferometer, and then converted into electrical signal by high-speed Photo Detector (PD). Finally, the real-time quantum random number generation rate of 1.1 Gbit/s is obtained by using 16 bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) with 250 MHz sampling rate and 50% extraction rate. A high-speed, real-time and integrated QRNG equipment is realized. At the same time, the advantages of this scheme and continuous laser as light source in principle and system design are compared. QRNG based on pulsed laser light source has passed various tests of China Academy of Information and Communications. The random number output by the product in the process of stable operation can pass 15 test standards specified in the State Cryptography Administration randomness test document GB/T 32915-2016 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) test standards.
Continuous-variable (CV) quantum communication is an important branch of quantum information technology and promises information-theoretical secure communication. High-performance and lightweight CV quantum devices are one of the keys to realizing quantum networks. Among them, the Gaussian-modulation module still has problems such as cumbersome photoelectric calibration and inconvenient use in the experimental stage, which introduces modulation noise and brings additional excess noise to the system, reducing the signal-to-noise ratio of the system and thus reducing system performance. To this end, by designing a field-programmable gate array and integrating all optical components (except the laser source), we achieved a miniaturized and low-cost Gaussian-modulation unit compatible with the existing fiber-optic communication infrastructure, realizing quantum signal modulation under adaptive photoelectric calibration. Taking CV quantum key distribution as the verification object, we analyzed the signal characteristics and the stability of the unit experimentally. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme exhibits quality Gaussian properties and correlations. Moreover, the temporal stability of the device is relatively high (the mean fluctuation is on the order of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}31}$ and the variance fluctuation is 0.0363), which provides more possibilities for the subsequent popularization of quantum communication and the development of quantum information networks.