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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

High-Speed Chip-based Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution with Double-Scanning Method

Lushuai Cao, Wei Luo, X. L. Hu, Cong Jiang, Yi Jin, Xiang‐Bin Wang, L. C. Kwek, A. Q. Liu

Published Jan 1, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Photonic integration offers a practical solution for wider deployment of quantum secure communication. Based on carrier-depletion modulators (CDMs) in silicon photonics, we design and fabricate high-speed transmitter chips and demonstrate its capability to implement measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD). In the proof-of-concept experiment, the quantum bit error rate (QBER) is as low as 0.85% in Z basis and 25.5% in X basis, respectively. With a double-scanning method, the optimized system shows a key rate per pulse of 1.65×10−4 over an emulated attenuation of 10 dB (corresponding to 50-km standard fiber) with 80% single photon detection efficiency.

DOI
10.1364/cleo_at.2022.am3d.7

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Photonic integration offers a practical solution for wider deployment of quantum secure communication. Based on carrier-depletion modulators (CDMs) in silicon photonics, we design and fabricate high-speed transmitter chips and demonstrate its capability to implement measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD). In the proof-of-concept experiment, the quantum bit error rate (QBER) is as low as 0.85% in Z basis and 25.5% in X basis, respectively. With a double-scanning method, the optimized system shows a key rate per pulse of 1.65×10−4 over an emulated attenuation of 10 dB (corresponding to 50-km standard fiber) with 80% single photon detection efficiency.
Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI QKD) removes all detector side channels and enables secure QKD with an untrusted relay.It is suitable for building a star-type quantum access network, where the complicated and expensive measurement devices are placed in the central untrusted relay and each user requires only a low-cost transmitter, such as an integrated photonic chip.Here, we experimentally demonstrate a 1.25-GHz silicon photonic chip-based MDI QKD system using polarization encoding.The photonic chip transmitters integrate the necessary encoding components for a standard QKD source.We implement random modulations of polarization states and decoy intensities, and demonstrate a finite-key secret rate of 31 bit=s over 36-dB channel loss (or 180-km standard fiber).This key rate is higher than state-of-the-art MDI QKD experiments.The results show that silicon photonic chipbased MDI QKD, benefiting from miniaturization, low-cost manufacture, and compatibility with CMOS microelectronics, is a promising solution for future quantum secure networks.
Photonic chip integration would greatly benefit quantum key distribution (QKD) systems for secure communication, in terms of compactness, scalability, and well-established fabrication techniques. This study demonstrates proof of concept for an all-chip measurement-device-independent QKD system using integrated silicon photonic technology. The prototype generates a key rate per pulse of $2.923\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ over a distance corresponding to 50 km of standard fiber with 25% detection efficiency; the system is projected to be able to work at 120 km with 85% detection efficiency. This technology shows great promise for highly integrated quantum communication networks.
Integrated photonics provides a route to both miniaturization of quantum key distribution (QKD) devices and enhancing their performance. A key element for achieving discrete-variable QKD is a single-photon detector. It is highly desirable to integrate detectors onto a photonic chip to enable the realization of practical and scalable quantum networks. We realize a heterogeneously integrated, superconducting silicon-photonic chip. Harnessing the unique high-speed feature of our optical waveguide-integrated superconducting detector, we perform the first optimal Bell-state measurement (BSM) of time-bin encoded qubits generated from two independent lasers. The optimal BSM enables an increased key rate of measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD), which is immune to all attacks against the detection system and hence provides the basis for a QKD network with untrusted relays. Together with the time-multiplexed technique, we have enhanced the sifted key rate by almost one order of magnitude. With a 125-MHz clock rate, we obtain a secure key rate of 6.166 kbps over 24.0 dB loss, which is comparable to the state-of-the-art MDI-QKD experimental results with a GHz clock rate. Combined with integrated QKD transmitters, a scalable, chip-based, and cost-effective QKD network should become realizable in the near future.
Silicon (Si) photonics is reaching maturity and has the potential of offering low-cost, reliable, chip-scale systems for quantum key distribution (QKD). On the other hand, QKD is also maturing with the bridging of theory and practice. This work presents a Si integrated photonic transmitter for polarization-encoded QKD. The chip was fabricated in a standard Si photonic foundry process and integrates a pulse generator, intensity modulator, variable optical attenuator, and polarization modulator in a 1.3 mm x 3 mm die area. The devices in the photonic circuit meet the requirements for QKD. The transmitter was used in a proof-of-concept demonstration of the BB84 QKD protocol over a 5 km long fiber link. A quantum bit error rate of 5.4% and an asymptotic secure key rate of 0.95 kbps is obtained. This work shows the feasibility of foundry based Si photonics for quantum information applications.
The measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) can be immune to all detector side-channel attacks. Moreover, it can be easily implemented combining with the matured decoy-state methods under current technology. It, thus, seems a very promising candidate in practical implementation of quantum communications. However, it suffers from a severe finite-data-size effect in most existing MDI-QKD protocols, resulting in relatively low key rates. Recently, Jiang et al. [ Phys. Rev. A 103 , 012402 ( 2021 ). PLRAAN 1050-2947 10.1103/PhysRevA.103.012402 ] proposed a double-scanning method to drastically increase the key rate of MDI-QKD. Based on Jiang et al. ’s theoretical work, here we for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, implement the double-scanning method into MDI-QKD and carry out corresponding experimental demonstration. With a moderate number of pulses of 10 10 , we can achieve 150 km secure transmission distance, which is impossible with all former methods. Therefore, our present work paves the way toward practical implementation of MDI-QKD.