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IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON)

Quantum Key Distribution Optimization: Reducing Communication Overhead in Post-Processing Steps

Ashutosh Bhatia, Sainath Bitragunta, Kamlesh Tiwari

Published Dec 1, 2024• 2 citations
Publisher
DOI
10.1109/tencon61640.2024.10903120

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Combined with one-time pad encryption scheme, quantum key distribution guarantees the unconditional security of communication in theory. However, error correction and privacy amplification in the post-processing phase of quantum key distribution result in high time delay, which limits the final secret key generation rate and the practicability of quantum key distribution systems. To alleviate this limitation, this paper proposes an efficient post-processing algorithm based on polar codes for quantum key distribution. In this algorithm, by analyzing the channel capacity of the main channel and the wiretap channel respectively under the Wyner's wiretap channel model, we design a codeword structure of polar codes, so that the error correction and privacy amplification could be completed synchronously in a single step. Through combining error correction and privacy amplification into one single step, this efficient post-processing algorithm reduces complexity of the system and lower the post-processing delay. Besides, the reliable and secure communicaiton conditions for this algorithm has been given in this paper. Simulation results show that this post-processing algorithm satisfies the reliable and secure communication conditions well.
In the post-processing phase of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a crucial step involves the parameter estimation of the initial key. Among various techniques, the group parity check method stands out as a prevalent approach for parameter estimation. This method operates by segmenting the received key into groups and applying parity checks within each group to estimate the bit error rate. Theoretically, this method can achieve high precision estimation with minimal information leakage compared to traditional random sampling methods. However, the practical efficiency and estimation accuracy of this method are contingent upon the group size and the statistical properties of the errors, which sometimes may not yield superior results relative to conventional methods. This paper introduces an enhanced group parity check method, which incorporates an additional parity code comparison and employs a dynamic group strategy, effectively reducing information leakage in subsequent error correction steps caused by erroneous estimations. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed parameter estimation method can more accurately estimate and correct errors occurring during the QKD physical process and dynamically optimize the key generation process according to actual communication conditions.