Experimental demonstration of an active quantum key distribution network with over gbps clock synchronization

Author

Ma, Lijun ; Mink, Alan ; Xu, Hai ; Slattery, Oliver ; Tang, Xiao

Author_Institution

Nat. Inst. of Stand. & Technol., Gaithersburg

Volume

11

Issue

12

fYear

2007

fDate

12/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1019

Lastpage

1021

Abstract

We demonstrate a three-node QKD network that allows multiple users to share secure keys. This QKD network operates on the 850 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths at 1.25 Gbps clock rate. The communication route is controlled by MEMS optical switches. In this paper, we report the network structure and experimental results including the performance of the optical switch, polarization recovery, and timing alignment technology during switching. This demonstration experimentally shows that QKD can be extended to active multi-node networks.

Keywords

optical fibre networks; quantum cryptography; synchronisation; telecommunication security; active multi-node networks; active quantum key distribution network; bit rate 1.25 Gbit/s; clock synchronization; network structure; optical switch; polarization recovery; three-node QKD network; timing alignment technology; wavelength 1550 nm; wavelength 850 nm; Clocks; Communication system control; Micromechanical devices; Optical control; Optical devices; Optical fiber communication; Optical fiber polarization; Optical switches; Synchronization; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Communications Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1089-7798

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LCOMM.2007.071477

Filename

4400772