In this paper, the influence of classical signals on quantum key distribution (QKD) is studied over multi-core fiber (MCF) when optical amplifiers exist. Firstly, the long-distance simultaneous transmission architectures of QKD and classical signals are proposed based on advanced asymmetric sending or not sending QKD (SNS-QKD) and classical Bennett-Brassard 1984-QKD (BB84-QKD), and the segment length between optical amplifiers can be adjusted according to requirement. Then, theoretical models of spontaneous Raman scattering noise and four-wave mixing noise are established based on the proposed architectures. Next, the calculation models of the secure key rate under the influence of noises from classical signals are derived. Finally, the experimental results show that the theoretical models match well with the experimental photons, and the maximum difference between experimental and simulated noise photons is less than 2.6 dB. Simulation results show that the performance of asymmetric SNS-QKD is better than that of BB84-QKD architecture when classical signals and quantum signals are transmitted in different cores of MCF.
In this paper, the influence of classical signals on quantum key distribution (QKD) is studied over multi-core fiber (MCF) when optical amplifiers exist. Firstly, the long-distance simultaneous transmission architectures of QKD and classical signals are proposed based on advanced asymmetric sending or not sending QKD (SNS-QKD) and classical Bennett-Brassard 1984-QKD (BB84-QKD), and the segment length between optical amplifiers can be adjusted according to requirement. Then, theoretical models of spontaneous Raman scattering noise and four-wave mixing noise are established based on the proposed architectures. Next, the calculation models of the secure key rate under the influence of noises from classical signals are derived. Finally, the experimental results show that the theoretical models match well with the experimental photons, and the maximum difference between experimental and simulated noise photons is less than 2.6 dB. Simulation results show that the performance of asymmetric SNS-QKD is better than that of BB84-QKD architecture when classical signals and quantum signals are transmitted in different cores of MCF.
We theoretically study the issues for long-distance transmission of quantum key distribution (QKD) coexisting with classical signals. The recently proposed phase-matching QKD protocol can drastically improve the transmission distance of QKD. However, in the coexistence system, the noise generated by classical signals, especially spontaneous Raman scattering noise, is a big challenge. Moreover, the classical optical amplifier, which is necessary for the realistic long-distance classical communication, makes the noise more serious. In view of this, we establish the unified Raman noise model for three discrete-variable QKD protocols (BB84, measurement-device-independent and phase-matching QKD protocols) in the presence of classical optical amplifiers, which can be applied to both single-core single-mode fiber and multicore fiber. Then, we derive the key rate of the three QKD protocols coexisting with classical signals using the proposed unified Raman noise model. Finally, simulation results show that multicore fiber is promising for simultaneous long-distance transmission of QKD and the dense wavelength division multiplexing system.
In this paper, we propose core and wavelength allocation schemes for the simultaneous transmission of classical signals and quantum key distribution (QKD) over multi-core fiber (MCF), aiming to maximize the secure key rate, and evaluate the proposed schemes in sending-or-not-sending-QKD (SNS-QKD) and Bennett-Brassard-1984-QKD (BB84-QKD). First, we formulate the noise power on quantum channels, and propose a theoretical model of backward cascaded noise of four wave mixing and inter-core crosstalk considering modulation frequency of the classical signals. Also, the impact of noises on secure key rate is calculated in SNS-QKD and BB84-QKD. Then, we propose a core allocation algorithm in order to reduce the noise interference to quantum cores, and the quantum equal frequency spacing (qEFS) and the quantum unequal frequency spacing (qUFS) wavelength allocation schemes are proposed in the same-core (SC) and the different-core (DC) distribution. Finally, we perform numerical simulation and experimental evaluation for the proposed schemes. Compared with the conventional channel allocation (CCA) scheme in SNS-QKD, the proposed schemes can extend the secure transmission distance up to 78.8%. In BB84-QKD, the secure transmission distance can be extended up to 127.1% under SC-qUFS scheme. Experimental results show that the proposed schemes can suppress noise photons up to 57.54% compared to CCA scheme.
In this paper, the influence of noise induced by classical signals on independent core transmitting quantum key distribution (QKD) is studied over multicore fiber (MCF). We propose a theoretical model of the cascaded noise of spontaneous Raman scattering and inter-core crosstalk (SpRS-ICXT), and the cascaded noise of four-wave mixing and inter-core crosstalk (FWM-ICXT) considering modulation frequency over MCF. To analyze the effect of modulation frequency on QKD, we define and simulate the average power difference and power fluctuation difference of SpRS-ICXT and FWM-ICXT. Then, SpRS-ICXT and FWM-ICXT noises are simulated in two cases: (1) 1 or 3 classical channels and 1 km MCF; (2) 8 or 16 classical channels and 45 km MCF. For the latter case, SpRS-ICXT and FWM-ICXT noises have a serious impact on QKD. Therefore, the impact of noise on QKD is studied. A higher modulation frequency can improve QKD performance, and the secure transmission distance can be further extended by 15.2% when the modulation frequency is 10 GHz relative to ignoring the modulation frequency. However, inter-core crosstalk (ICXT), SpRS-ICXT and FWM-ICXT noises will shorten 52.2% secure transmission distance compared to only transmitting QKD. Finally, the noise of quantum channel is experimentally measured at different symbol rates and modulation formats of classical signals, and it is shown that increasing the symbol rate of data signals at the same optical power degrades the secure key rate of QKD system.
In this paper, we investigate the impact of classical optical communications in quantum key distribution (QKD) over hollow-core fiber (HCF), multi-core fiber (MCF) and single-core fiber (SCF) and propose wavelength allocation schemes to enhance QKD performance. Firstly, we theoretically analyze noise interference in QKD over HCF, MCF and SCF, such as spontaneous Raman scattering (SpRS) and four-wave mixing (FWM). To mitigate these noise types and optimize QKD performance, we propose a joint noise suppression wavelength allocation (JSWA) scheme. FWM noise suppression wavelength allocation and Raman noise suppression wavelength allocation are also proposed for comparison. The JSWA scheme indicates a significant enhancement in extending the simultaneous transmission distance of classical signals and QKD, reaching approximately 100 km in HCF and 165 km in MCF under a classical power per channel of 10 dBm. Therefore, MCF offers a longer secure transmission distance compared with HCF when classical signals and QKD coexist in the C-band. However, when classical signals are in the C-band and QKD operates in the O-band, the performance of QKD in HCF surpasses that in MCF. This research establishes technical foundations for the design and deployment of QKD optical networks.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a secure communication method for sharing symmetric cryptographic keys based on the principles of quantum physics. Its integration into the fiber-optic network infrastructure is important for ensuring privacy in optical communications. Multi-core fibers (MCFs), the likely building blocks of future high-capacity optical networks, offer new opportunities for such integration. Here, we experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, the coexistence of discrete-variable QKD and high-throughput classical communication in the C-band over a field-deployed MCF with industry standard cladding diameter of 125 μm. Specifically, we demonstrate successful secure-key establishment in one core of a 25.2-km uncoupled-core MCF, while simultaneously loading the remaining three cores with full C-band counter-propagating classical traffic at an aggregate net rate of 110.8 Tb/s. By proposing and experimentally validating an improved analytical model for inter-core spontaneous Raman scattering noise, we find that this configuration is optimal for our deployed MCF link as it is immune to four-wave mixing, that becomes relevant when the quantum and classical signals are propagating in the same direction. Our findings make an important step forward in demonstrating the integration of QKD and classical transmission in uncoupled-core multi-core fibers for next-generation optical communication networks.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is regarded as an alternative to traditional cryptography methods for securing data communication by quantum mechanics rather than computational complexity. Towards the massive deployment of QKD, embedding it with the telecommunication system is crucially important. Homogenous optical multi-core fibers (MCFs) compatible with spatial division multiplexing (SDM) are essential components for the next-generation optical communication infrastructure, which provides a big potential for co-existence of optical telecommunication systems and QKD. However, the QKD channel is extremely vulnerable due to the fact that the quantum states can be annihilated by noise during signal propagation. Thus, investigation of telecom compatibility for QKD co-existing with high-speed classical communication in SDM transmission media is needed. In this paper, we present analytical models of the noise sources in QKD links over heterogeneous MCFs. Spontaneous Raman scattering and inter-core crosstalk are experimentally characterized over spans of MCFs with different refractive index profiles, emulating shared telecom traffic conditions. Lower bounds for the secret key rates and quantum bit error rate (QBER) due to different core/wavelength allocation are obtained to validate intra- and inter-core co-existence of QKD and classical telecommunication.