An evaluation model of the optical quantum communication network

Quantum communication networks are the trends toward multiple users´ unconditional secure communication. Based on several passive optical devices, various types of fiber-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) networks have been proposed. However, it is still hard to accurately assess these networks. To find the optimal solution, a general assessment that would not involve detailed schemes is quite necessary. In this paper, we introduce an evaluation method and analyze optical-device-based QKD networks including two rational aspects: (i) network connectivity and network bandwidth which reflect the network´s flexibility and performance in theory; (ii) network cost that brings pragmatic restriction on the network construction in practice. Applying this model, we compare five typical types of optical-device-based QKD networks. The explicit results demonstrate the above networks´ characteristics and some valuable conclusions.