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Journal of Semiconductors

Intensity correlation distribution in gain-switched semiconductor laser for quantum key distribution

Yuanfei Gao, Tao Wang, Yixin Wang, Zhiliang L. Yuan

Published Jun 1, 2025• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract In the implementation of quantum key distribution, Security certification is a prerequisite for social deployment. Transmitters in decoy-BB84 systems typically employ gain-switched semiconductor lasers (GSSLs) to generate optical pulses for encoding quantum information. However, the working state of the laser may violate the assumption of pulse independence. Here, we explored the dependence of intensity fluctuation and high-order correlation distribution of optical pulses on driving currents at 2.5 GHz. We found the intensity correlation distribution had a significant dependence on the driving currents, which would affect the final key rate. By utilizing rate equations in our simulation, we confirmed the fluctuation and correlation originated from the instability of gain-switched laser driven at a GHz-repetitive frequency. Finally, we evaluated the impact of intensity fluctuation on the secure key rate. This work will provide valuable insights for assessing whether the transmitter is operating at optimal state in practice.

DOI
10.1088/1674-4926/24090052

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Abstract In the implementation of quantum key distribution, Security certification is a prerequisite for social deployment. Transmitters in decoy-BB84 systems typically employ gain-switched semiconductor lasers (GSSLs) to generate optical pulses for encoding quantum information. However, the working state of the laser may violate the assumption of pulse independence. Here, we explored the dependence of intensity fluctuation and high-order correlation distribution of optical pulses on driving currents at 2.5 GHz. We found the intensity correlation distribution had a significant dependence on the driving currents, which would affect the final key rate. By utilizing rate equations in our simulation, we confirmed the fluctuation and correlation originated from the instability of gain-switched laser driven at a GHz-repetitive frequency. Finally, we evaluated the impact of intensity fluctuation on the secure key rate. This work will provide valuable insights for assessing whether the transmitter is operating at optimal state in practice.
Security certification of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems under practical conditions is necessary for social deployment. This article focused on the transmitter, and, in particular, investigated the intensity fluctuation of the optical pulses emitted by a gain-switched semiconductor laser used in QKD systems implementing decoy-BB84 protocol. A large intensity fluctuation was observed for low excitation, showing strong negative correlation between the adjacent pulses, which would affect the final key rate. The fluctuation decreased and the correlation disappeared as excitation increased. Simulation with rate equations successfully reproduced the experimental results and revealed that the large fluctuation originates from an intrinsic instability of gain-switched lasers driven periodically at a rate comparable to the inverse of carrier lifetime, as in GHz-clock QKD systems. Methods for further reduction of the intensity fluctuation were also discussed.
The decoy-state method is a prominent approach to enhance the performance of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems that operate with weak coherent laser sources. Due to the limited transmissivity of single photons in optical fiber, current experimental decoy-state QKD setups increase their secret key rate by raising the repetition rate of the transmitter. However, this usually leads to correlations between subsequent optical pulses. This phenomenon leaks information about the encoding settings, including the intensities of the generated signals, which invalidates a basic premise of decoy-state QKD. Here we characterize intensity correlations between the emitted optical pulses in two industrial prototypes of decoy-state BB84 QKD systems and show that they significantly reduce the asymptotic key rate. In contrast to what has been conjectured, we experimentally confirm that the impact of higher-order correlations on the intensity of the generated signals can be much higher than that of nearest-neighbor correlations.
Multi-photon emissions in laser sources represent a serious threat for the security of quantum key distribution (QKD). While the decoy-state technique allows to solve this problem, it requires uniform phase randomisation of the emitted pulses. However, gain-switched lasers operating at high repetition rates do not fully satisfy this requirement, as residual photons in the laser cavity introduce correlations between the phases of consecutive pulses. Here, we introduce experimental schemes to characterise the phase probability distribution of the emitted pulses, and demonstrate that an optimisation task over interferometric measures suffices in determining the impact of arbitrary order correlations, which ultimately establishes the security level of the implementation according to recent security proofs. We expect that our findings may find usages beyond QKD as well.
One of the key assumptions in the security proof of BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol with a weak coherent light source is that the phase of each pulse emitted from the source is random. If the phases correlated, an efficient eavesdropping method exists, and more sacrifice bits are necessary to guarantee the security of the protocol. The phase correlation between the adjacent pulses was examined experimentally, for the first time, by measuring the visibility of interference. An asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer was used to observe the interference between adjacent pulses from a distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode driven by 10 GHz clock signal. Clear interference was observed when the DC bias current exceeds the laser threshold. This high visibility implies phase correlation between pulses. In contrast, only a low visibility, i.e. very weak phase correlation, was observed when the DC bias current was set far below the threshold. The phase correlation became stronger as the DC bias current increased. The experimental results imply that a QKD equipment implementing BB84 protocol with a coherent light source is secure as long as the laser is operated in gain-switch even for 10 GHz clock frequency.
One of the key assumptions in the security proof of BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol with a weak coherent light source is that the phase of each pulse emitted from the source is random. If the phases correlated, an efficient eavesdropping method exists, and more sacrifice bits are necessary to guarantee the security of the protocol. The phase correlation between the adjacent pulses was examined experimentally, for the first time, by measuring the visibility of interference. An asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer was used to observe the interference between adjacent pulses from a distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode driven by 10 GHz clock signal. Clear interference was observed when the DC bias current exceeds the laser threshold. This high visibility implies phase correlation between pulses. In contrast, only a low visibility, i.e. very weak phase correlation, was observed when the DC bias current was set far below the threshold. The phase correlation became stronger as the DC bias current increased. The experimental results imply that a QKD equipment implementing BB84 protocol with a coherent light source is secure as long as the laser is operated in gain-switch even for 10 GHz clock frequency.