Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed network
Abstract Large-scale quantum networks require dynamic and resource-efficient solutions to reduce system complexity with maintained security and performance to support growing number of users over large distances. Current encoding schemes including time-bin, polarization, and orbital angular momentum...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Publishing Group
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Light: Science & Applications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01696-8 |
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| _version_ | 1832594399358353408 |
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| author | Anahita Khodadad Kashi Michael Kues |
| author_facet | Anahita Khodadad Kashi Michael Kues |
| author_sort | Anahita Khodadad Kashi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Large-scale quantum networks require dynamic and resource-efficient solutions to reduce system complexity with maintained security and performance to support growing number of users over large distances. Current encoding schemes including time-bin, polarization, and orbital angular momentum, suffer from the lack of reconfigurability and thus scalability issues. Here, we demonstrate the first-time implementation of frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution and a reconfigurable distribution of entanglement using frequency-bin encoding. Specifically, we demonstrate a novel scalable frequency-bin basis analyzer module that allows for a passive random basis selection as a crucial step in quantum protocols, and importantly equips each user with a single detector rather than four detectors. This minimizes massively the resource overhead, reduces the dark count contribution, vulnerability to detector side-channel attacks, and the detector imbalance, hence providing an enhanced security. Our approach offers an adaptive frequency-multiplexing capability to increase the number of channels without hardware overhead, enabling increased secret key rate and reconfigurable multi-user operations. In perspective, our approach enables dynamic resource-minimized quantum key distribution among multiple users across diverse network topologies, and facilitates scalability to large-scale quantum networks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-40c347b1cd254943bdaf07715ede8eb1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2047-7538 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Light: Science & Applications |
| spelling | doaj-art-40c347b1cd254943bdaf07715ede8eb12025-01-19T12:39:15ZengNature Publishing GroupLight: Science & Applications2047-75382025-01-0114111610.1038/s41377-024-01696-8Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed networkAnahita Khodadad Kashi0Michael Kues1Institute of Photonics, Leibniz University HannoverInstitute of Photonics, Leibniz University HannoverAbstract Large-scale quantum networks require dynamic and resource-efficient solutions to reduce system complexity with maintained security and performance to support growing number of users over large distances. Current encoding schemes including time-bin, polarization, and orbital angular momentum, suffer from the lack of reconfigurability and thus scalability issues. Here, we demonstrate the first-time implementation of frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution and a reconfigurable distribution of entanglement using frequency-bin encoding. Specifically, we demonstrate a novel scalable frequency-bin basis analyzer module that allows for a passive random basis selection as a crucial step in quantum protocols, and importantly equips each user with a single detector rather than four detectors. This minimizes massively the resource overhead, reduces the dark count contribution, vulnerability to detector side-channel attacks, and the detector imbalance, hence providing an enhanced security. Our approach offers an adaptive frequency-multiplexing capability to increase the number of channels without hardware overhead, enabling increased secret key rate and reconfigurable multi-user operations. In perspective, our approach enables dynamic resource-minimized quantum key distribution among multiple users across diverse network topologies, and facilitates scalability to large-scale quantum networks.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01696-8 |
| spellingShingle | Anahita Khodadad Kashi Michael Kues Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed network Light: Science & Applications |
| title | Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed network |
| title_full | Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed network |
| title_fullStr | Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed network |
| title_full_unstemmed | Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed network |
| title_short | Frequency-bin-encoded entanglement-based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency-multiplexed network |
| title_sort | frequency bin encoded entanglement based quantum key distribution in a reconfigurable frequency multiplexed network |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01696-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anahitakhodadadkashi frequencybinencodedentanglementbasedquantumkeydistributioninareconfigurablefrequencymultiplexednetwork AT michaelkues frequencybinencodedentanglementbasedquantumkeydistributioninareconfigurablefrequencymultiplexednetwork |