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Cahall, Clinton

Publications and source records attributed to Cahall, Clinton.

4 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Scalable high-rate, high-dimensional time-bin encoding quantum key distribution

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a new scheme for measuring high-dimensional phase states using a two-photon interference technique, which we refer to as quantum-controlled measurement. Using this scheme, we implement a d -dimensional time-phase quantum key distribution (QKD) system and achieve secret key rates of 5.26 and 8.65 Mbps using d = 2 and d = 8 quantum states, respectively, for a 4 dB channel loss, illustrating that high-dimensional time-phase QKD protocols are advantageous for low-loss quantum channels. Here, this work paves the way for practical high-dimensional QKD protocols for metropolitan-scale systems. Furthermore, our results apply equally well for other high-dimensional protocols, such as those using the spatial degree-of-freedom with orbital angular momentum states being one example.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Provably secure and high-rate quantum key distribution with time-bin qudits

The security of conventional cryptography systems is threatened in the forthcoming era of quantum computers. Quantum key distribution (QKD) features fundamentally proven security and offers a promising option for quantum-proof cryptography solution. Although prototype QKD systems over optical fiber have been demonstrated over the years, the key generation rates remain several orders of magnitude lower than current classical communication systems. In an effort toward a commercially viable QKD system with improved key generation rates, we developed a discrete-variable QKD system based on time-bin quantum photonic states that can generate provably secure cryptographic keys at megabit-per-second rates over metropolitan distances. We use high-dimensional quantum states that transmit more than one secret bit per received photon, alleviating detector saturation effects in the superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors used in our system that feature very high detection efficiency (of more than 70%) and low timing jitter (of less than 40 ps). Our system is constructed using commercial off-the-shelf components, and the adopted protocol can be readily extended to free-space quantum channels. In conclusion, the security analysis adopted to distill the keys ensures that the demonstrated protocol is robust against coherent attacks, finite-size effects, and a broad class of experimental imperfections identified in our system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗