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IEEE photonics journal

FPGA-Based Implementation of an Underwater Quantum Key Distribution System With BB84 Protocol

Burak Kebapçı, Vecdi Emre Levent, Sude Ergin, Görkem Mutlu, İbrahim Bağlıca, Anilcan Tosun, Pietro Paglierani, Konstantinos Pelekanakis, Roberto Petroccia, João Alves, Murat Uysal

Published Jun 19, 2023• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

As threats in the maritime domain diversify, securing data transmission becomes critical for underwater wireless networks designed for the surveillance of critical infrastructure and maritime border protection. This has sparked interest in underwater Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). In this paper, we present an FPGA-based real-time implementation of an underwater QKD system based on the BB84 protocol. The QKD unit is built on a hybrid computation system consisting of an FPGA and an on-board computer (OBC) interfaced with optical front-ends. A real-time photon counting module is implemented on FPGA. The transmitter and receiver units are powered with external UPS and all system parameters can be monitored from the connected computers. The system is equipped with a visible laser and an alignment indicator to validate successful manual alignment. Secure key distribution at a rate of 100 qubits per second was successfully tested over a link distance of 7 meters.

DOI
10.1109/jphot.2023.3287493

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As threats in the maritime domain diversify, securing data transmission becomes critical for underwater wireless networks designed for the surveillance of critical infrastructure and maritime border protection. This has sparked interest in underwater Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). In this paper, we present an FPGA-based real-time implementation of an underwater QKD system based on the BB84 protocol. The QKD unit is built on a hybrid computation system consisting of an FPGA and an on-board computer (OBC) interfaced with optical front-ends. A real-time photon counting module is implemented on FPGA. The transmitter and receiver units are powered with external UPS and all system parameters can be monitored from the connected computers. The system is equipped with a visible laser and an alignment indicator to validate successful manual alignment. Secure key distribution at a rate of 100 qubits per second was successfully tested over a link distance of 7 meters.
As threats in the maritime domain diversify, securing data transmission becomes critical for underwater wireless networks designed for the surveillance of critical infrastructure and maritime border protection. This has sparked interest in underwater Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). In this paper, we present a real-time implementation of an underwater QKD system based on the BB84 protocol. The QKD unit is built on a hybrid computation system consisting of an FPGA and an on-board computer (OBC) interfaced with optical front-ends. A real-time photon counting module has been implemented on FPGA. The transmitter and receiver units are powered with external UPS and all system parameters can be monitored from the connected computers. The system is also equipped with a visible laser and an alignment indicator to validate successful manual alignment.
Security is a crucial aspect of underwater acoustic networks, that are often used in mission critical scenarios, such as coastal surveillance, rapid environmental assessment and mine countermeasure applications. The broadcast nature of the acoustic channel makes it vulnerable to a variety of attacks, such as spoofing, men-in-the-middle and jamming. Moreover, the lack of a standardized key distribution system makes data confidentiality challenging. In this paper we investigate the use of quantum key distribution (QKD) in underwater networks, in order to ensure confidentiality and integrity of the communication. While in the terrestrial domain the use of the one-time-pad protocol (requiring the key length to be equal to the message length) is limited by the low rate of the QKD rate compared to the bitrate of radio transmissions, in the underwater domain the limited bandwidth of the acoustic channel makes QKD a valid approach also for the one-time-pad protocol. The system is tested both with an emulator and a field test: results show that QKD can be a valuable system to secure underwater acoustic networks.
The research aims to develop an attack-free underwater optical communication channel at a distance of 50 meters. In this work, we have emphasized the importance of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in Naval and many other applications. An in-detail study of the Benette Brassard QKD protocol proposed in 1984 [BB84] is done with its implementation. Then as the next step, we analyzed the drawbacks of BB84 and the necessity of QKD in Underwater Optical Wireless Sensor Networks [UO-WSN]. As a solution, to identified problems, we have proposed the Enhanced BB84 protocol (EBB84) with considerations of its usage in the UO-WSN. The results showed that the EBB84 algorithm is best suitable algorithm for the underwater environment.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides a secure and effective way of exchanging cryptographic symmetric keys without the possibility of an eavesdropper being undetected. The transmission and detection of the quantum states at the physical layer is the first step to defining a common source of entropy, where both parties will extract a raw key. Over the last few years, continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocols have become an attractive technology for QKD, providing a low-cost solution that can be easily integrated with the current optical network devices and infrastructure. Unlike other QKD technologies, a CV protocol requires complex and highly computationally demanding digital signal processing (DSP) operations. In that sense, parallel computation tools such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) represent a key element for the practical implementation of this quantum technology and to scale its performance in terms of distance and secret key rate indicators. This work presents an FPGA-based implementation of the physical layer of a CV-QKD transmitter. The proposed architecture and employed protocols are described, and hardware implementation aspects are discussed, including resource occupation analysis, configuration parameters, and timing issues.
A new QKD implementation scheme of BB84 protocol is introduced based on FPGA.Firstly, the overall design method and the functional division are described in detail.Then, the logic design of the sub-module are significantly studied, including random data module, laser source drive module, error correcting module, receiver/transmitter interface module, extracting original key module and error rate estimation module.Finally, the partial simulation results are given to verify the correctness of the design function.The set-up advantage is the small size, high bitrates, flexible configuration, and convenient algorithm update.
We demonstrate the underwater quantum key distribution (UWQKD) over a 10.4-meter Jerlov type III seawater channel by building a complete UWQKD system with all-optical transmission of quantum signals, a synchronization signal and a classical communication signal. The wavelength division multiplexing and the space-time-wavelength filtering technology are applied to ensure that the optical signals do not interfere with each other. The system is controlled by FPGA and can be easily integrated into watertight cabins to perform the field experiment. By using the decoy-state BB84 protocol with polarization encoding, we obtain a bit rate of secure keys of 1.82 Kbps and an error rate of 1.55% at the attenuation of 13.26 dB. We prove that the system can tolerate the channel loss up to 23.7 dB and therefore may be used in the 300-meter-long Jerlov type I clean seawater channel.