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arXiv:quant-ph/0702216 · Electronics Letters

Low timing jitter detector for gigahertz quantum key distribution

Robert John Collins, Robert H. Hadfield, Verónica Fernández, Sae Woo Nam, Gerald S. Buller

Published Feb 1, 2007• 39 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A superconducting single-photon detector based on a niobium nitride nanowire is demonstrated in an optical-fibre-based quantum key distribution test bed operating at a clock rate of 3.3 GHz and a transmission wavelength of 850 nm. The low jitter of the detector leads to significant reduction in estimated quantum bit error rate and a resultant improvement in secrecy efficiency compared to previous estimates made by use of silicon single-photon avalanche detectors.

DOI
10.1049/el:20073748

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A superconducting single-photon detector based on a niobium nitride nanowire is demonstrated in an optical-fibre-based quantum key distribution test bed operating at a clock rate of 3.3 GHz and a transmission wavelength of 850 nm. The low jitter of the detector leads to significant reduction in estimated quantum bit error rate and a resultant improvement in secrecy efficiency compared to previous estimates made by use of silicon single-photon avalanche detectors.
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Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors are a key technology for quantum information and science due to their high efficiency, low timing jitter, and low dark counts. In this work, we present a detector for single 1550 nm photons with up to 78% detection efficiency, timing jitter below 50 ps FWHM, 158 counts/s dark count rate - as well as a world-leading maximum count rate of 1.5 giga-counts/s at 3 dB compression. The PEACOQ detector (Performance-Enhanced Array for Counting Optical Quanta) comprises a linear array of 32 straight superconducting niobium nitride nanowires which span the mode of an optical fiber. This design supports high count rates with minimal penalties for detection efficiency and timing jitter. We show how these trade-offs can be mitigated by implementing independent read-out for each nanowire and by using a temporal walk correction technique to reduce count-rate dependent timing jitter. These detectors make quantum communication practical on a 10 GHz clock.
We present a detailed analysis of a gigahertz clock rate environmentally robust phase-encoded quantum key distribution (QKD) system utilizing several different single-photon detectors, including the first implementation of an experimental resonant cavity thin-junction silicon single-photon avalanche diode. The system operates at a wavelength of 850 nm using standard telecommunications optical fibre. A general-purpose theoretical model for the performance of QKD systems is presented with reference to these experimental results before predictions are made about realistic detector developments in this system. We discuss, with reference to the theoretical model, how detector operating parameters can be further optimized to maximize key exchange rates.
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This paper describes progress in gigahertz-clocked quantum key distribution systems. It details current advances in both point-to-point and network applications. We will discuss possibilities for practical quantum key distribution using single-photon sources, and discuss the experimental system performance of GHz-clocked quantum key distribution systems focusing on issues of quantum bit error rate, net bit rate and transmission distance with different detector structures, concentrating on single-photon avalanche diode detectors, but also examining superconducting nanowire-based structures. The quantum key distribution system is designed to be environmentally robust and an examination of long-term system operation will be presented.
This paper describes progress in gigahertz-clocked quantum key distribution systems. It details current advances in both point-to-point and network applications. We will discuss possibilities for practical quantum key distribution using single-photon sources, and discuss the experimental system performance of GHz-clocked quantum key distribution systems focusing on issues of quantum bit error rate, net bit rate and transmission distance with different detector structures, concentrating on single-photon avalanche diode detectors, but also examining superconducting nanowire-based structures. The quantum key distribution system is designed to be environmentally robust and an examination of long-term system operation will be presented.