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Reconfigurable metasurfaces to realize BB84 protocol for wireless quantum communication

Qi Yuan, Jinming Jiang, Xingyin Guan, Jiahao Li, Zhaohui Song, Liangbin Xia, Yicheng Yi, Yongfeng Li, Zhuo Wang, Shaobo Qu

Published May 7, 2025• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Metasurfaces showcase unique abilities to arbitrarily manipulate the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electromagnetic (EM) waves, facilitating their application in wireless communication. In the propagation of EM waves, traditional methods cause severe security concerns in channel/deciphering under eavesdropping. Fortunately, quantum communication, based on quantum key distribution (QKD) of the BB84 protocol, endows the transmission with high security. However, the conventional QKD technology relies on complicated manipulation of a single photon and is prone to channel collapses once an eavesdropper intervenes. Furthermore, the merit of the BB84 protocol has not been realized in metasurfaces as a transmission channel. Here, we, for the first time as far as we know, used metasurfaces to implement wireless transmission of quantum information via the first QKD protocol, BB84. These metasurfaces provided four conjugated quantum states to concretely demonstrate the BB84 protocol through a conveyor-type switching method. High-fidelity holographic results were obtained at ∼10 GHz and beyond in both experiment and simulation. As compared with traditional QKD technology, our BB84 protocol based on metasurfaces is more stable and secure in information transmission. In addition, the metasurfaces have electromechanical switchable mode, empowering them to have multidisciplinary functions in wireless communication, e.g., program-controlled antennas, intelligent reflectors, and variable metalens.

DOI
10.1364/oe.563064

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Metasurfaces showcase unique abilities to arbitrarily manipulate the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electromagnetic (EM) waves, facilitating their application in wireless communication. In the propagation of EM waves, traditional methods cause severe security concerns in channel/deciphering under eavesdropping. Fortunately, quantum communication, based on quantum key distribution (QKD) of the BB84 protocol, endows the transmission with high security. However, the conventional QKD technology relies on complicated manipulation of a single photon and is prone to channel collapses once an eavesdropper intervenes. Furthermore, the merit of the BB84 protocol has not been realized in metasurfaces as a transmission channel. Here, we, for the first time as far as we know, used metasurfaces to implement wireless transmission of quantum information via the first QKD protocol, BB84. These metasurfaces provided four conjugated quantum states to concretely demonstrate the BB84 protocol through a conveyor-type switching method. High-fidelity holographic results were obtained at ∼10 GHz and beyond in both experiment and simulation. As compared with traditional QKD technology, our BB84 protocol based on metasurfaces is more stable and secure in information transmission. In addition, the metasurfaces have electromechanical switchable mode, empowering them to have multidisciplinary functions in wireless communication, e.g., program-controlled antennas, intelligent reflectors, and variable metalens.
One promising way to use quantum information to secure everyday communication is through the distribution of quantum keys. By exchanging a secret key, the Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) approach allows two parties to communicate securely.BB84 protocol is among the most well-known QKD protocols. In this protocol, qubits are exchanged via a quantum channel between the sender and the receiver. This enables them to produce a shared key that is impenetrable to eavesdroppers and illustrate the fundamental ideas of QKD using current simulations and implementations. The results of this study demonstrate that the BB84 protocol is a highly secure QKD technique that has been investigated in great detail and used in a variety of contexts. Additionally, over the enhancements made to the BB84 protocol such as the use of advanced error correction techniques and decoy states to increase its security and usability is discussed. With an emphasis on the BB84 protocol in secure communication technologies, this study offers an extensive analysis of QKD systems overall.
Multiprotocol quantum key distribution (mQKD) enables users to flexibly select protocols for secure quantum communication, though achieving mQKD introduces considerable system complexity and resource demands. Here, we report the first realization of mQKD using a metasurface, which generates multiple hybrid states of photonic spin angular momentum (SAM) and orbital angular momentum (OAM) and distributes them to different users. The incident polarization-entangled photon pair interacts with the metasurface, producing four SAM-OAM hybrid states with high fidelity through spin-orbit conversion. Among these hybrid states, two execute the BB84 protocol, while the other two perform the BBM92 protocol, all demonstrating high secret key rates and low quantum bit error rates. This approach provides a robust, compact solution for generating and distributing SAM-OAM hybrid states and stands out for the remarkable capability of a metasurface in secured information processing.
Quantum key distribution is a new method in key distribution system in cryptography used to transmit secret key between two legitimate parties. This method is an invention in quantum cryptography as part of quantum mechanics which solves the key distribution's problem in cryptosystem by providing a secure communication channel between two parties with absolute security guaranteed by the laws of physics. Communication not only occurred in wired medium but also in wireless medium. WLAN as a wireless medium are much noisier and less reliable in general than wired mediums. This type of noise will generate different numbers of key length and also different level of error rate estimation. Thus, how much secure of the data could be protected on wireless communication? In this study, we implement BB84 protocol on 802.11i wireless local area network (WLAN) to show the affect of noise and eavesdropper could make the data transmission is much secure in wireless medium. In our study shows that implementation of BB84 in 802.11i is able to secure the key distribution from being stealing by the third party.
Classical cryptographic systems are increasingly challenged by advances in computing power and new algorithmic techniques, particularly with the rise of quantum computing, which threatens the security of current encryption methods. This has spurred interest in quantum-resistant cryptography, aimed at creating algorithms that can withstand attacks from quantum computers. Traditionally, secure key transport over alternate channels has been a significant challenge, but quantum mechanics offers a solution. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a revolutionary method for secure communication that leverages quantum principles. Unlike traditional methods, QKD provides unconditional security, with key security ensured by the laws of physics rather than computational difficulty. The BB84 protocol, introduced in 1984 by Bennett and Brassard, is a leading QKD scheme known for its simplicity and effectiveness in generating eavesdropping-resistant cryptographic keys. It facilitates secure key transport over alternate channels. This documentation aims to advance QKD security by practically implementing and analyzing the BB84 protocol. Through detailed theoretical analysis, simulation studies, and experimental validation, the practical impacts, and limitations of BB84-based QKD systems are examined. Additionally, a practical implementation of quantum key distribution using a sudoku key demonstrates the process's simplicity and effectiveness. These findings are expected to pave new paths in the field of cryptanalysis in the emerging Quantum Age.
This paper explores the field of quantum key distribution (QKD) through the simulation of the BB84 protocol, a foundational breakthrough in secure communication. As quantum computing advances, traditional encryption schemes become increasingly vulnerable, highlighting the urgent need for quantum-resilient cryptographic methods. The BB84 protocol leverages quantum mechanics to enable secure key exchange between parties, with built-in mechanisms to detect eavesdropping. By employing the SimulaQron framework and CQC libraries, this research simulates the BB84 protocol in a peer-to-peer setting, showcasing its effectiveness in generating secure encryption keys and ensuring private communication. Additionally, this work provides valuable insights into programming within the quantum paradigm and establishes a platform for future developments in quantum cryptography.
Autonomous "Things" is becoming the future trend as the role, and responsibility of IoT keep diversifying. Its applicability and deployment need to re-stand technological advancement. The versatile security interaction between IoTs in human-to-machine and machine-to-machine must also endure mathematical and computational cryptographic attack intricacies. Quantum cryptography uses the laws of quantum mechanics to generate a secure key by manipulating light properties for secure end-to-end communication. We present a proof-of-principle via a communication architecture model and implementation to simulate these laws of nature. The model relies on the BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol with two scenarios, without and with the presence of an eavesdropper via the interception-resend attack model from a theoretical, methodological, and practical perspective. The proposed simulation initiates communication over a quantum channel for polarized photon transmission after a pre-agreed configuration over a Classic Channel with parameters. Simulation implementation results confirm that the presence of an eavesdropper is detectable during key generation due to Heisenberg's uncertainty and no-cloning principles. An eavesdropper has a 0.5 probability of guessing transmission qubit and 0.25 for the polarization state. During simulation re-iterations, a base-mismatch process discarded about 50 percent of the total initial key bits with an Error threshold of 0.11 percent.