Speaker
Description
The vision of a global quantum internet is at once ambitious and enthralling, but building metropolitan quantum key distribution (QKD) networks faces real world challenges, including atmospheric turbulence, channel loss, and the need for synchronization between users.
The application of metropolitan-scale quantum key distribution (QKD) networks is a critical step toward global quantum-secure communications. This talk presents a stochastic model for predicting key rates in a Memory-Assisted Measurement-Device-Independent QKD (MA-MDI-QKD) system operating over fiber optic cables. By incorporating asynchronous quantum memory loading through a Monte Carlo-based global/local clock scheme, the model accounts for real-world parameters such as fibre losses, detector efficiencies and dark counts, and quantum memory efficiency and coherence time. Simulations for metropolitan distances of 10–50 km demonstrate that asynchronous MA-MDI-QKD outperforms direct BB84 and synchronous MDI-QKD protocols, particularly at longer ranges where the memory-assisted architecture reduces the effective transmission distance by half. The tool provides a practical, open-source framework for designing and optimizing MA-MDI-QKD networks in urban environments, offering valuable insights for the integration of quantum communications into existing metropolitan infrastructures.
| Keyword-1 | MA-MDI-QKD |
|---|---|
| Keyword-2 | quantum key distribution |