Free-Space Quantum Cryptography

An experimental free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) system has been tested over an outdoor optical path of ~ 1 km under nighttime conditions at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This system employs the Bennett 92 protocol; here we give a brief overview of this protocol, and describe our experimental implementation of it. An analysis of the system efficiency is presented, as well as a description of our error detection protocol, which employs a two-dimensional parity check scheme. Finally, the susceptibility of this system to eavesdropping by various techniques is determined. Possible applications include the rekeying of satellites in low earth orbit.

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