Title :
Quantum Key Distribution Based on Selective Post-Processing in Passive Optical Networks
Author :
Martinez-Mateo, Jesus ; Ciurana, Alex ; Martin, Vicente
Author_Institution :
Fac. de Inf., Univ. Politec. de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Abstract :
One of the main obstacles to the widespread adoption of quantum cryptography has been the difficulty of integration into standard optical networks, largely due to the tremendous difference in power of classical signals compared with the single quantum used for quantum key distribution. This makes the technology expensive and hard to deploy. In this letter, we show an easy and straightforward integration method of quantum cryptography into optical access networks. In particular, we analyze how a quantum key distribution system can be seamlessly integrated in a standard access network based on the passive optical and time division multiplexing paradigms. The novelty of this proposal is based on the selective post-processing that allows for the distillation of secret keys avoiding the noise produced by other network users. Importantly, the proposal does not require the modification of the quantum or classical hardware specifications neither the use of any synchronization mechanism between the network and quantum cryptography devices.
Keywords :
passive optical networks; quantum cryptography; synchronisation; time division multiplexing; optical access networks; passive optical networks; quantum cryptography; quantum key distribution; selective post-processing; synchronization mechanism; time division multiplexing paradigms; Noise; Optical network units; Passive optical networks; Photonics; Standards; Time division multiplexing; Quantum key distribution; passive optical network; time division multiplexing;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LPT.2014.2308921