Qcrypt 2022: Contributed Talk68
Towards practical metropolitan free-space quantum key distribution networks
Authors:
Andrej Kržič (Fraunhofer IOF); Uday Chandrashekara (Fraunhofer IOF); Sakshi Sharma (Fraunhofer IOF); Christopher Spiess (Fraunhofer IOF); Matthias Goy (Fraunhofer IOF); Fabian Steinlechner (Fraunhofer IOF)
Abstract:
In recent years, considerable progress has been made towards large-scale quantum key distribution (QKD) networks. While satellites have been shown to be promising for bridging large intercity and even intercontinental distances between nodes, fibre-based systems seem to be a natural choice for metropolitan scales. However, suitable fibre infrastructure is not always available. A possible alternative are terrestrial free-space links. Most of the terrestrial free-space experiments so far aimed at advancing technology towards satellite applications, leaving the specific aspects of metropolitan free-space networks largely unaddressed. Here, we address these aspects and make the case for an entanglement-based QKD network architecture. We developed a QKD system that consists of all the main building blocks of the present architecture. We showcase its performance over a 1.7-km free-space link and demonstrate kbps secure key rates under various link conditions, including in full daylight. We believe our work provides an important stepping stone towards practical metropolitan free-space quantum key distribution networks.
https://2022.qcrypt.net/
#QCrypt 2022