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### Proceedings Paper

Free-space quantum key distribution at GHz repetition rates
Author(s): J. C. Bienfang; Daniel Rogers; Alessandro Restelli; Charles W. Clark; Carl J. Williams; Alan Mink; Barry Hershman; Tassos Nakassis; X. Tang; D. Su
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Paper Abstract

Quantum key distribution (QKD) can produce secure cryptographic key for use in symmetric cryptosystems. By adopting clock-recovery techniques from modern telecommunications practice we have demonstrated a free-space quantum key distribution system operating at a transmission rate of 625 MHz at 850 nm. The transmission rate of this system is ultimately limited by the timing resolution of the single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs), and we present a solution to take advantage of SPADs with higher timing resolution that can enable repetition rates up to 2.5 GHz. We also show that with high-repetition-rate sub-clock gating these higher-resolution SPADs can reduce the system's exposure to solar background photons, thus reducing the quantum-bit error rate (QBER) and improving system performance.

Paper Details

Date Published: 14 February 2007
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 6476, Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits IX, 64760H (14 February 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.713630
Show Author Affiliations
J. C. Bienfang, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
Daniel Rogers, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
Alessandro Restelli, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
Charles W. Clark, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
Carl J. Williams, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
Alan Mink, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
Barry Hershman, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
Tassos Nakassis, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
X. Tang, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)
D. Su, National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6476:
Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits IX
Louay A. Eldada; El-Hang Lee, Editor(s)