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Analysis of polarization coding for subcarrier multiplexing quantum key distribution

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Abstract

In this paper, a polarization-coding scheme for subcarrier multiplexing quantum key distribution (SCM-QKD) is proposed, in which the overall QKD can be substantially increased by relying on parallel sideband channels. The polarization state of each sideband can be randomly and independently synthesized by controlling the phase difference of subcarriers. We derive the mathematical formulas of quantum bit error rate (QBER). Both the theoretical analysis and the numerical results show that an efficient implementation of BB84 protocol is feasible. By the proposed polarization coding in a parallel QKD system, without relying on dispersion compensation, a 6% performance gain in terms of correct bit rate over the conventional BB84 protocol (i.e., without polarization coding) is obtained. More importantly, the proposed polarization-coding-aided SCM-QKD can help achieve a long-distance QKD with a low QBER.

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Notes

  1. Here, we assume that the proposed system encodes the bits and forms a pair of conjugated bases required for implementing the BB84 protocol.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 61872406 and 61472094, Guangxi Natural Science Foundation under Grants 2014GXNSFGA118007 and Key Research and Development Plan Project of Zhejiang Province (No. 2018C01059).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Informationization, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, China

    Hailin Xiao

  2. School of Information and Communication, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, 541004, China

    Hailin Xiao & Shan Ouyang

  3. Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA

    Anthony Theodore Chronopoulos

  4. Department Computer Engineering and Informatics, University of Patras, 26500, Rio, Greece

    Anthony Theodore Chronopoulos

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  1. Hailin Xiao
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  2. Shan Ouyang
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Correspondence to Hailin Xiao.

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Xiao, H., Ouyang, S. & Chronopoulos, A.T. Analysis of polarization coding for subcarrier multiplexing quantum key distribution. Quantum Inf Process 18, 130 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11128-019-2245-2

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