Experimental quantum key distribution at 1.3 gigabit-per-second secret-key rate over a 10 dB loss channel

Quantum key distribution (QKD) enables unconditionally secure communication ensured by the laws of physics, opening a promising route to security infrastructure for the coming age of quantum computers. QKD's demonstrated secret-key rates (SKRs), however, fall far short of the gigabit-per-second rates of classical communication, hindering QKD's widespread deployment. QKD's low SKRs are largely due to existing single-photon-based protocols' vulnerability to channel loss. Floodlight QKD (FL-QKD) boosts SKR by transmitting many photons per encoding, while offering security against collective attacks. Here, we report an FL-QKD experiment operating at a 1.3 Gbit s−1 SKR over a 10 dB loss channel. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first QKD demonstration that achieves a gigabit-per-second-class SKR, representing a critical advance toward high-rate QKD at metropolitan-area distances.

[1]  J. F. Dynes,et al.  Room temperature single-photon detectors for high bit rate quantum key distribution , 2014 .

[2]  Peter W. Shor,et al.  Polynomial-Time Algorithms for Prime Factorization and Discrete Logarithms on a Quantum Computer , 1995, SIAM Rev..

[3]  Jeffrey H. Shapiro,et al.  Floodlight quantum key distribution: Demonstrating a framework for high-rate secure communication , 2016, 1607.00457.

[4]  Rüdiger L. Urbanke,et al.  Design of capacity-approaching irregular low-density parity-check codes , 2001, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory.

[5]  Rob Thew,et al.  Provably secure and practical quantum key distribution over 307 km of optical fibre , 2014, Nature Photonics.

[6]  Stefano Pirandola,et al.  Two-way quantum cryptography at different wavelengths , 2013, 1309.7973.

[7]  Fuguo Deng,et al.  Reply to ``Comment on `Secure direct communication with a quantum one-time-pad' '' , 2004, quant-ph/0405177.

[8]  L. Banchi,et al.  Fundamental limits of repeaterless quantum communications , 2015, Nature Communications.

[9]  Peng Huang,et al.  Continuous-variable quantum key distribution with 1 Mbps secure key rate. , 2015, Optics express.

[10]  Jeffrey H. Shapiro,et al.  Secure communication via quantum illumination , 2013, Quantum Inf. Process..

[11]  Jeffrey H. Shapiro,et al.  Floodlight quantum key distribution: A practical route to gigabit-per-second secret-key rates , 2015, 1510.08737.

[12]  Yongmei Huang,et al.  Satellite-to-ground quantum key distribution , 2017, Nature.

[13]  Seth Lloyd,et al.  Gaussian quantum information , 2011, 1110.3234.

[14]  Masahide Sasaki,et al.  Maintenance-free operation of WDM quantum key distribution system through a field fiber over 30 days. , 2013, Optics express.

[15]  Seth Lloyd,et al.  Continuous Variable Quantum Cryptography using Two-Way Quantum Communication , 2006, ArXiv.

[16]  F. Marsili,et al.  Detecting single infrared photons with 93% system efficiency , 2012, 1209.5774.

[17]  Jeffrey H. Shapiro Defeating passive eavesdropping with quantum illumination , 2009 .

[18]  Quntao Zhuang,et al.  Additive Classical Capacity of Quantum Channels Assisted by Noisy Entanglement. , 2017, Physical review letters.

[19]  K. Boström,et al.  Deterministic secure direct communication using entanglement. , 2002, Physical review letters.

[20]  A receiver for the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration using the optical communications telescope laboratory , 2014, 2014 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) - Laser Science to Photonic Applications.

[21]  Gilles Brassard,et al.  Quantum cryptography: Public key distribution and coin tossing , 2014, Theor. Comput. Sci..

[22]  Zheshen Zhang,et al.  Entanglement's benefit survives an entanglement-breaking channel. , 2013, Physical review letters.