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Quantum Information and Computation

Deterministic Quantum Key Distribution with Untrusted Relay and Finite Sources

Guodong Kang, Li-Jun Zhang, Wu Xiaolu, Qingping Zhou, Mao-Fa Fang

Published Dec 1, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) is proposed to close all loopholes of detection devices in QKD systems, and it holds the potential to double the limit transmission distance of those one-way QKD protocols. However, most MDI-QKD protocols are nondeterministic, which reduces the potential key rate by nearly half. In this paper, we propose a deterministic QKD protocol with an untrusted detection relay and finite sources, and based on the current technology of QKD devices, we derive the performance formula for it. The simulation results show that the performance of this protocol can exceed the MDI-QKD within the long limit transmission distance range, about 445km.

DOI
10.2478/qic-2025-0029

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Abstract Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) is proposed to close all loopholes of detection devices in QKD systems, and it holds the potential to double the limit transmission distance of those one-way QKD protocols. However, most MDI-QKD protocols are nondeterministic, which reduces the potential key rate by nearly half. In this paper, we propose a deterministic QKD protocol with an untrusted detection relay and finite sources, and based on the current technology of QKD devices, we derive the performance formula for it. The simulation results show that the performance of this protocol can exceed the MDI-QKD within the long limit transmission distance range, about 445km.
Remote distribution of secret keys is a challenging task in quantum cryptography. A significant step in this direction is the measurement-device independence quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD). For two remote (or independent) parties Alice and Bob who initially no share secret information, the MDI-QKD enables them to share a secret key by the measurement of an untrusted relay. Unfortunately, the MDI-QKD yields the assumption that the devices of both Alice and Bob have to be trusted. Here, we show that QKD between two independent parties can also be realized even if the device of either Alice or Bob is untrusted. We tackle the problem by resorting to the recently developed one-sided device-independent QKD protocol. We derive conditions on the extracted secret key to be unconditionally secure against arbitary attacks in the limit of asymptotic keys. In the presence of Gaussian states and measurements, we theoretically demonstrate our scheme is feasible, which could be an attractive candidate for long distance secret communication.
Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) can provide enhanced security compared to traditional QKD, and it constitutes an important framework for a quantum network with an untrusted network server. Still, a key assumption in MDI-QKD is that the sources are trusted. We propose here a MDI quantum network with a single untrusted source. We have derived a complete proof of the unconditional security of MDI-QKD with an untrusted source. Using simulations, we have considered various real-life imperfections in its implementation, and the simulation results show that MDI-QKD with an untrusted source provides a key generation rate that is close to the rate of initial MDI-QKD in the asymptotic setting. Our work proves the feasibility of the realization of a quantum network. The network users need only low-cost modulation devices, and they can share both an expensive detector and a complicated laser provided by an untrusted network server.
Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) is proposed to close the loopholes of the detection part in QKD systems, while it still requires the light source to be trusted. This assumption is not guaranteed in practice, leading to practical secure issues. In this paper, we propose a light source monitoring scheme with single-photon detectors for MDI-QKD, which can guarantee the security of the system under the untrusted source condition with both common decoy state method and the newly proposed five-intensity decoy state method. Moreover, our monitoring scheme performs almost the same as the ideal MDI protocol even considering the imperfect factors in practical systems. Compared to the previous scheme, our work improves the secure key rate and the transmission distance of practical MDI-QKD systems significantly.
We present a feasible method that can make quantum key distribution (QKD), both ultra-long-distance and immune, to all attacks in the detection system. This method is called measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD) with entangled photon sources in the middle. By proposing a model and simulating a QKD experiment, we find that MDI-QKD with one entangled photon source can tolerate 77 dB loss (367 km standard fiber) in the asymptotic limit and 60 dB loss (286 km standard fiber) in the finite-key case with state-of-the-art detectors. Our general model can also be applied to other non-QKD experiments involving entanglement and Bell state measurements.
We propose a long distance measurement-device-independent (MDI) quantum-key-distribution (QKD) with quantum memory, and analyze the relationship between the key generation rate and the storage efficiency of quantum memory. Our protocol is considered and compared with MDI-QKD without quantum memory. We present general formulas for our protocol with three-intensity decoy states. The simulation results show that the maximum secure distance supported by MDI-QKD with quantum memory is about 500 km, while the maximum secure distance of MDI-QKD without quantum memory is only 216 km. With certain limits, prolonging the time of maintaining the necessary quantum fidelity can increase security key transmission distance. Furthermore, the protocol is robust against device imperfection such as quantum memory decoherence effects, which can be easily applied to practical QKD system.
Abstract Asymmetric measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) enables building a scalable, high-rate quantum network with an untrusted relay in real-world scenarios. In this study, we improve the performance of asymmetric MDI-QKD using numerical analysis techniques. Simulation results show a twofold increase in tolerance to basis misalignment compared to the previous state-of-the-art method. Specifically, for instances of substantial basis misalignment, the key rate increases by an order of magnitude, and the maximum communication distance extends by 20 km. Our work significantly enhances the robustness and feasibility of asymmetric MDI-QKD, thereby promoting the widespread deployment of MDI-QKD networks.