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OSA Quantum 2.0 Conference

An improved shot-noise unit calibration for continuous-variable quantum key distribution

Yichen Zhang, Yundi Huang, Ziyang Chen, Song Yu, Hong Mei Guo

Published Jan 1, 2020• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

An improved shot-noise unit calibration method for continuous-variable quantum key distribution is proposed with a modified trusted detector model, which could effectively simplify the calibration process and reduce the statistical fluctuation.
DOI
10.1364/quantum.2020.qw6b.13

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The shot-noise unit in continuous-variable quantum key distribution plays an important and fundamental role in experimental implementation, as it is used as a normalization parameter that contributes to performing security analyses and distilling key information. However, the traditional calibration procedure and detector model cannot cover all system noise in practical applications, which results in loopholes and influences the practical security. What is more, the traditional procedure is also rather complicated and has difficulty in providing compatibility with automatic operating systems. In this paper, we propose a calibration model based on a proposed trusted detector model, which could naturally close the loopholes in practical applications. It can help to identify the shot-noise unit in only one step, which can not only effectively simplify the evaluation process but also reduce the statistical fluctuations, while two steps are needed in the traditional method. We prove its feasibility and derive a complete version of the corresponding entanglement-based model. A detailed security analysis against arbitrary collective attacks and numerous simulation results in both the asymptotic-limit regime and the finite-size regime are provided. A proof-of-principle experiment is implemented, and the results indicate that our one-time calibration model can be employed as a powerful alternative method for calibrating the shot-noise unit. Our method paves the way for the deployment of continuous-variable quantum key distribution with real-time calibration and automatic operation.
Imperfections in practical detectors, including limited detection efficiency, and inherent electronic noise, can seriously decrease the transmission distance of continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution systems. Owing to the difficulties inherent in realizing a high-efficiency fiber homodyne detector, challenges still exist in continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution system implementation. We offer an alternative approach in an attempt to solve these difficulties and improve the potential for system implementation. Here, a novel practical detector modeling method is utilized, which is combined with a one-time shot-noise-unit calibration method for the purpose of system realization. The new modeling method benefits greatly from taking advantage of one-time shot-noise-unit calibration methods, such as measuring electronic noise and shot noise directly to a novel shot-noise unit, so as to eliminate the statistical fluctuations found in previous methods; this makes the implementation of such systems simpler, and the calibration progress more accurate. We provide a simulation of the secret key rate versus distance with different parameters. In addition, the minimal detection efficiency required at each distance, as well as the contrast between the two methods, are also shown, so as to provide a reference in terms of system realization.
Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution (CV-QKD) relies on accurate noise calibration at the receiver to ensure the security of quantum communication. Traditional calibration methods often oversimplify noise characteristics, neglecting the impact of local oscillator (LO) noise and the critical role of noise spectral properties, which can lead to imprecise Shot Noise Calibration (SNC). Our contributions are threefold: 1) we propose an operational framework for calibration, relying on the notion of stationarity 2) in this framework, we give a method allowing us to derive the optimal calibration duration for a given experiment 3) leveraging our knowledge of noise spectral properties, we introduce a novel SNC method. This work also formalizes the calibration procedures, addressing implicit assumptions and providing a better foundation for the certification of CV-QKD protocols, of which calibration is a fundamental part. We demonstrate that our improved calibration technique offers higher performance and higher tolerance to receiver imperfections, which can enhance the performance and cost-effectiveness of CV-QKD systems.