We proposed a fully connected quantum communication network architecture based on multi-user entanglement distribution by space multiplexing and wavelength multiplexing technologies. A fully connected QKD network with 40 users was demonstrated experimentally.
Quantum communication is developed owing to the theoretically proven security of quantum mechanics, which may become the main technique in future information security. However, most studies and implementations are limited to two or several parties. Herein, we propose a fully connected quantum communication network without a trusted node for a large number of users. Using flexible wavelength demultiplex/multiplex and space multiplex technologies, 40 users are fully connected simultaneously without a trusted node by a broadband energy-time entangled photon pair source. This network architecture may be widely deployed in real scenarios such as companies, schools, and communities owing to its simplicity, scalability, and high efficiency.
Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) would play an important role in future information technologies due to its theoretically proven security based on the laws of quantum mechanics. How to realize QKDs among multiple users in an effective and simple way is crucial for its real applications in communication networks. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a fully connected QKD network without trusted node for a large number of users. Using flexible wavelength division multiplexing/demultiplexing and space division multiplexing, entanglement resources generated by a broadband energy-time entangled quantum light source are distributed to 40 users. Any two users share a part of entanglement resources, by which QKD is established between them. As a result, it realizes a fully connected network with 40 users and 780 QKD links. The performance of this network architecture is also discussed theoretically, showing its potential on developing quantum communication networks with large user numbers owing to its simplicity, scalability, and high efficiency.
Quantum networks scale the advantages of quantum communication protocols to more than just two distant users. Here we present a fully connected quantum network architecture in which a single entangled photon source distributes quantum states to a multitude of users [1]. Our network architecture thus minimizes the resources required of each user without sacrificing security or functionality. As no adaptations of the source are required to add users, the network can readily be scaled to a large number of clients, whereby no trust in the provider of the quantum source is required. Unlike previous attempts at multi-user networks, which have been based on active components, and thus limited to some duty cycle, our implementation is fully passive and thus provides the potential for unprecedented quantum communication speeds. We experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of our approach using a single source of bi-partite polarization entanglement which is multiplexed into 12 wavelength channels to distribute 6 states between 4 users in a fully connected graph using only 1 fiber and polarization analysis module per user.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a crucial technology for information security in the future. Developing simple and efficient ways to establish QKD among multiple users are important to extend the applications of QKD in communication networks. Herein, we proposed a scheme of symmetric dispersive optics QKD (DO-QKD) and demonstrated an entanglement-based quantum network based on it. In the experiment, a broadband entanglement photon pair source was shared by end users via wavelength and space division multiplexing. The wide spectrum of generated entangled photon pairs was divided into 16 combinations of frequency-conjugate channels. Photon pairs in each channel combination supported a fully-connected subnet with 8 users by a passive beam splitter. Eventually, it showed that an entanglement-based QKD network over 100 users could be supported by one entangled photon pair source in this architecture. It has great potential on applications of local quantum networks with large user number.
Quantum networks scale the advantages of quantum communication protocols to more than just two distant users. Here we present a fully connected quantum network architecture in which a single entangled photon source distributes quantum states to a multitude of users. Our network architecture thus minimizes the resources required of each user without sacrificing security or functionality. As no adaptations of the source are required to add users, the network can readily be scaled to a large number of clients, whereby no trust in the provider of the quantum source is required. Unlike previous attempts at multi-user networks, which have been based on active components, and thus limited to some duty cycle, our implementation is fully passive and thus provides the potential for unprecedented quantum communication speeds. We experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of our approach using a single source of bi-partite polarization entanglement which is multiplexed into 12 wavelength channels to distribute 6 states between 4 users in a fully connected graph using only 1 fiber and polarization analysis module per user. We then discuss practical usage scenarios to demonstrate the advantage of some of the salient features of our network topology. These include adaptations/hardware implementations that are more favorable for local area networks and those for long distance intercity links. Our implementation consisted of a single Type 0 MgO:PPLN crystal pumped bidirectionally in a Sagnac interferometer to produce polarization entangled photon pairs with an ≈ 60 nm bandwidth. These pair wise entangled photons were split into 12 different wavelength channels corresponding to 6 correlated wavelength pairs. Each of the 4 users in our demonstration received 3 wavelength channels multiplexed together via a solitary single mode fiber. Each user had just one detector unit that they used to simultaneously measure all input channels. We exploited small time delays between different channels to isolate the relevant signal from noise. We measured the quality of entanglement between each channel pair simultaneously and calculated the effective secure key rate using the E91 protocol. Our experiment showed the effectiveness of our network topology and its scalability against noise, number of users and losses. Further experiments are underway to increase the number of clients and improve the scalability of the topology. Also, we plan to demonstrate distributed computation tasks like secure auctions, Byzantine fault tolerance, and asynchronous reference frame agreement are feasible using our network architecture.