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International Conference on Embedded Systems, Mobile Communication and Computing (EMC²)

Optimizing Coding Strategies for BB84-Based Quantum Key Distribution

Shawn A. Prestridge, Dinesh Rajan

Published Jan 12, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Post-processing in BB84-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) must simultaneously ensure error correction, preserve secrecy, and satisfy strict resource constraints on embedded or edge devices. These competing requirements make the choice of coding strategy a system-level co-design problem involving both communication performance and decoder implementation cost. In this work, we present a comparative co-design framework that selects among LDPC, Polar, BCH, and Hamming codes based on real-time estimates of the quantum bit error rate (QBER), desired burn rate, and available decoding resources. We evaluate coding on the quantum channel and on the classical side-channel, quantifying their impact on residual BER, entropy loss, computational complexity, and secret-key rate. The resulting operational boundaries identify which codes are optimal in low-, moderate-, and high-error regimes. These boundaries provide a practical approach for implementing efficient BB84 reconciliation in embedded and edge QKD systems.

DOI
10.1109/emc68537.2026.11441637

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Post-processing in BB84-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) must simultaneously ensure error correction, preserve secrecy, and satisfy strict resource constraints on embedded or edge devices. These competing requirements make the choice of coding strategy a system-level co-design problem involving both communication performance and decoder implementation cost. In this work, we present a comparative co-design framework that selects among LDPC, Polar, BCH, and Hamming codes based on real-time estimates of the quantum bit error rate (QBER), desired burn rate, and available decoding resources. We evaluate coding on the quantum channel and on the classical side-channel, quantifying their impact on residual BER, entropy loss, computational complexity, and secret-key rate. The resulting operational boundaries identify which codes are optimal in low-, moderate-, and high-error regimes. These boundaries provide a practical approach for implementing efficient BB84 reconciliation in embedded and edge QKD systems.
This paper demonstrates ways to improve the post-processing phase of BB84-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) while maintaining Information-Theoretic security. Maximum entropy in the distilled bits can be achieved provided that we follow certain rules on which bits are sacrificed based on the properties of the generator matrix. We use standard decoder techniques to distill bits and establish Information-Theoretic security and provide insights into how those techniques can be adapted to provide greater bit throughput. Finally, we compare popular coding schemes in BB84 post-processing as a basis for code selection and discover at low initial Bit Error Rates (BER), a Polar 4/5 or Hamming* give the best performance and for higher initial BER, the LDPC 3/4 and Hamming* (a modified Hamming code) give the best performance [1] [2] [9] [10].
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) enables two parties to establish a common secret key that is information-theoretically secure by transmitting random bits that are encoded as qubits and sent over a quantum channel, followed by classical information processing steps known as information reconciliation and key extraction. Transmission of information over a quantum channel introduces errors that are generally considered to be due to the adversary's tempering with the quantum channel and needs to be corrected using classical communication over an (authenticated) public channel. Commonly used error-correcting codes in the context of QKD include cascade codes, low-density parity check (LDPC) codes, and more recently polar codes. In this work, we explore the applicability of designing of a polar code encoder based on a channel reliability sequence. We show that the reliability sequence can be derived and used to design an encoder independent of the choice of decoder. We then implement our design and evaluate its performance against previous implementations of polar code encoders for QKD as well as other typical error-correcting codes. A key advantage of our approach is the modular design which decouples the encoder and decoder design and allows independent optimization of each. Our work leads to more versatile polar code-based error reconciliation in QKD systems that would result in deployment in a broader range of scenarios.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) provides unconditional security, but requires a robust information reconciliation step to eliminate errors introduced by the quantum channel. The efficiency of this step directly determines the net secret key generation rate. The paper presents a detailed comparative analysis of three major reconciliation techniques: CASCADE, LDPC (Low-Density Parity-Check), and Polar Codes. The analysis focuses on seven essential metrics, including reconciliation efficiency (f), maximum error tolerance (QBERmax,), final secure key rate (R), frame error rate (FER), and computational complexity. Simulations are performed on a realistic QKD channel model (BB84 with depolarization), with QBER varying between 0.1% and 16%, covering experimental conditions. Keywords: QKD, Information Reconciliation, LDPC, CASCADE, Polar Codes, Secret Key Rate
In this paper, we propose how to construct a reconciliation method for the BB84 Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol. Theoretically, it is unconditionally secure because it is based on the quantum laws of physics, rather than the assumed computational complexity of mathematical problems. BB84 protocol performances can be reduced by various errors and information leakages such as limited intrinsic efficiency of the protocol, imperfect devices and eavesdropping. The proposed reconciliation method allowed to weed out these errors by using Turbo codes. Since their high error correction capability implies getting low errors, this method has high performance especially when compared to the last method presented in the literature based on Low-Density Parity Check codes (LDPC). In particular, we demonstrate that our method leads to a significant improvement of the protocol security and of the Bit Error Rate (BER) even with great eavesdropping capability.
In this paper, we propose how to construct a reconciliation method for the BB84 Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol. Theoretically, it is unconditionally secure because it is based on the quantum laws of physics, rather than the assumed computational complexity of mathematical problems. BB84 protocol performances can be reduced by various errors and information leakages such as limited intrinsic efficiency of the protocol, imperfect devices and eavesdropping. The proposed reconciliation method allowed to weed out these errors by using Turbo codes. Since their high error correction capability implies getting low errors, this method has high performance especially when compared to the last method presented in the literature based on Low- Density Parity Check codes (LDPC). In particular, we demonstrate that our method leads to a significant improvement of the protocol security and of the Bit Error Rate (BER) even with great eavesdropping capability.
Information reconciliation is a crucial procedure in the classical post-processing of quantum key distribution (QKD). Poor reconciliation efficiency, revealing more information than strictly needed, may compromise the maximum attainable distance, while poor performance of the algorithm limits the practical throughput in a QKD device. Historically, reconciliation has been mainly done using close to minimal information disclosure but heavily interactive procedures, like \textit{Cascade}, or using less efficient but also less interactive ---just one message is exchanged--- procedures, like the ones based in low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. The price to pay in the LDPC case is that good efficiency is only attained for very long codes and in a very narrow range centered around the quantum bit error rate (QBER) that the code was designed to reconcile, thus forcing to have several codes if a broad range of QBER needs to be catered for. Real world implementations of these methods are thus very demanding, either on computational or communication resources or both, to the extent that the last generation of GHz clocked QKD systems are finding a bottleneck in the classical part. In order to produce compact, high performance and reliable QKD systems it would be highly desirable to remove these problems. Here we analyse the use of short-length LDPC codes in the information reconciliation context using a low interactivity, \textit{blind}, protocol that avoids an a priori error rate estimation. We demonstrate that 2×1032 \times 10^32×103 bits length LDPC codes are suitable for blind reconciliation. Such codes are of high interest in practice, since they can be used for hardware implementations with very high throughput.