Quantum Key Distribution Laboratory Demonstration

Abstract

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method of secure key distribution which provides protection against the tampering and interception of information. Following the Bennet-Brassard 1984 (BB84) protocol of QKD, we select randomly from a set of bases in which to produce polarized photons and send the photons to a receiver, who measures them in a basis randomly selected from the same set. The fact that quantum mechanics prohibits the exact copying of a photon ensures that any eavesdropper who intercepts, measures, and attempts to pass the photons on to the receiver will be unable to faithfully reproduce that signal. The presence of the eavesdropper can then be detected, prior to any exchange of information, by an examination of the error rate between portions of the keys generated by the sender and receiver. Using a biphoton source, we have constructed a QKD system for use in research towards naval applications.

Document Details

• Document Type: Technical Report
• Publication Date: Dec 01, 2021
• Accession Number: AD1164877

Entities

People

• Jack R. Brault

Organizations

• Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

• Advanced Electronics
• Cyber
• Energy and Power Technologies
• Space
• Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Acousto-Optic Modulators
• Aircrafts
• California
• Coding
• Communication Channels
• Communication Systems
• Computer Programming
• Cryptography
• Detection
• Electro-Optic Modulators
• Field Programmable Gate Arrays
• National Security
• Quantum Computing
• Quantum Cryptography
• Quantum Key Distribution
• Quantum Mechanics
• Secure Communications
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
• Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

Readers

• Computational Modeling and Simulation
• Cybersecurity.
• Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.

Technology Areas

• Quantum Computing
• Quantum Science - Quantum Key Distribution