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Journal of Physics Conference Series

QKD key generation control protocol

Nikita Rudavin, Ilya Gerasin, E E Mekhtiev, Alexey V. Duplinsky, Yury Kurochkin

Published Dec 1, 2021• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Polarization-encoding fiber QKD requires compensation of polarization distortion caused by birefringence in optical fiber. Solving this task inevitably requires losing some effectiveness in terms of the final key rate. In this work, a time-division multiplexing protocol for polarisation calibration is suggested. This protocol was implemented in a QRate commercial QKD fiber system, utilizing BB84-protocol. Parameters of the protocol were optimized to maximize the secret key rate.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/2086/1/012098

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arXiv:1709.06655•Optics Express•Nov 7, 2017•43 citations
Abstract Polarization-encoding fiber QKD requires compensation of polarization distortion caused by birefringence in optical fiber. Solving this task inevitably requires losing some effectiveness in terms of the final key rate. In this work, a time-division multiplexing protocol for polarisation calibration is suggested. This protocol was implemented in a QRate commercial QKD fiber system, utilizing BB84-protocol. Parameters of the protocol were optimized to maximize the secret key rate.
Abstract The crucial task for polarization-encoding fiber QKD is to compensate polarization drift occurring in a quantum channel. To solve this problem, the receiver usually uses a polarization controller. For proper operation, this device must be efficiently managed in real-time. In this work, a gradient-descent-based algorithm is proposed to solve this problem. The algorithm was implemented and tested on a QRate commercial QKD fiber system, that utilizes BB84-protocol. Low and stable QBER has been obtained during a day of continuous operation.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) employs the laws of quantum mechanics for the purpose of cryptography. Two parties, commonly called Alice and Bob, are able to share a random key which is used to encrypt a message. Any eavesdropper trying to intercept their key will have to make measurements, thereby disturbing the system. This can be detected by Alice and Bob and they will then discard their key. Polarisation encoded QKD protocols use the polarisation of single photons as qubits to generate a cryptographic key. This can be implemented using a fibre optic link between Alice and Bob but the polarisation of light is altered when passed through a fibre due to birefringence caused by asymmetries in the fibre. This causes refractive differences for orthogonal components of the state of polarisation of light, so the polarisation is rotated as the photon is transmitted through the fibre. If the fibre is fixed, the change of polarisation will be unique and constant. This can be compensated by rotating each photon appropriately to its original state. Under typical environmental conditions, such as temperature changes and vibrations, the birefringence effects vary and should be compensated in real time. Therefore, an active polarisation controller is needed in order to maintain the state of polarisation of each qubit. An investigation was done to first track how the state of polarisation changes over time in a natural environment. Both wavelength-division multiplexing and time-division multiplexing were investigated as testing methods for the compensation system. A timedivision multiplexed system was developed to compensate the changes in polarisation. Since QKD protocols such as BB84 and B92 utilise two non-orthogonal bases, two polarisation controllers are usually used for compensation. However, by using a search algorithm, one polarisation controller was able to isolate the plane on the Poincare sphere that passes through both bases, thus compensating non-orthogonal states with one device.
Polarization-encoding provides a promising approach for the practical quantum key distribution (QKD) system due to the simple encoding and decoding method. Here we present a long-term stable polarization-encoding QKD with a real-time polarization control. The polarization of the signal photons in the optical fiber was maintained stable by using time-division-multiplexed reference pulses for feedback control. We implemented this technique in the QKD experiment in 50 km fiber to show that it could facilitate polarization-encoded quantum communication. The system operated stably for ∼460 min, and the quantum bit error rate was ∼5.27%. The raw key generating rate in this system was kept stable at ∼500 bits s -1 . The advantages and disadvantages of the previous polarization-control schemes were also rigorously analyzed.
Polarization drift due to propagation medium birefringence is a primary cause of increased quantum bit error ratio (QBER) in polarization-encoded quantum key distribution (QKD). The random nature of polarization drift and environmental instabilities cause it to vary over time, necessitating algorithms for effective polarization drift compensation in polarization-encoded optical fiber QKD links. I propose an algorithm based on processing time-multiplexed control pulses by unscented Kalman filter that minimizes the number of additional measurements that interrupt key exchange. I evaluated the robustness of the algorithm under various conditions, including random polarization drift velocities, and additional noise due to depolarization for weak-coherent BB84-like protocols, to determine the applicability limits of the proposed algorithm and its overhead.
Quantum key distribution – a process that encodes digital information – often utilises fibre optic technologies for commercial applications. Fibre provides the benefit of a dark channel as well as the convenience of independence of a line-of-sight connection between the sender and receiver. In order to implement quantum key distribution protocols utilising polarisation encoding, the birefringence effects of fibre must be compensated for. Birefringence is caused by manufacturing impurities in the fibre or a change in environmental conditions and results in a rotation of the state of polarisation of light as it is propagated through the fibre. With dynamic environmental conditions, the birefringence effects should be monitored with a test signal at regular time intervals so that the polarisation of each photon can be appropriately compensated to its original state. Orthogonal states are compensated simultaneously, but most protocols, such as BB84 and B92, require non-orthogonal basis sets. Instead of using a compensator for each basis, the presented scheme fixes the polarisation controller onto the plane on the Poincaré that passes through both bases, compensating both non-orthogonal bases simultaneously.
We present a new optical scheme for BB84 protocol quantum key distribution (QKD). The proposed setup consists of a compact all-fiber polarization encoding optical scheme based on LiNbO3 phase modulators, single laser source and two single-photon detectors. Optical scheme consists of standard telecommunication components and is suitable for both fiber and free-space quantum communication channels. Low losses (~2dB) in Bob's device increase both the key generation rate and distance limit. A new technique for solving polarization mode dispersion (PMD) issue in LiNbO3 is implemented, allowing two crystals to neutralize the effect of each other. Several proof-of-concept experiments have been conducted at 10 MHz repetition frequency over 50 km of standard optical fiber under laboratory conditions and over 30 km of urban fiber with high losses (13dB), which is a link within a QKD network. To achieve this, calibration algorithms have been developed, allowing the system to work autonomously and making it promising for practical applications.