Twin-field quantum key distribution without optical frequency dissemination

Lai Zhou, Jinping Lin, Yumang Jing and Zhiliang Yuan ()
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Lai Zhou: Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences
Jinping Lin: Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences
Yumang Jing: Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences
Zhiliang Yuan: Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Twin-field (TF) quantum key distribution (QKD) has rapidly risen as the most viable solution to long-distance secure fibre communication thanks to its fundamentally repeater-like rate-loss scaling. However, its implementation complexity, if not successfully addressed, could impede or even prevent its advance into real-world. To satisfy its requirement for twin-field coherence, all present setups adopted essentially a gigantic, resource-inefficient interferometer structure that lacks scalability that mature QKD systems provide with simplex quantum links. Here we introduce a technique that can stabilise an open channel without using a closed interferometer and has general applicability to phase-sensitive quantum communications. Using locally generated frequency combs to establish mutual coherence, we develop a simple and versatile TF-QKD setup that does not need service fibre and can operate over links of 100 km asymmetry. We confirm the setup’s repeater-like behaviour and obtain a finite-size rate of 0.32 bit/s at a distance of 615.6 km.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36573-2

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