Open AccessRobust frame synchronization for free-space continuous-variable quantum key distribution
Author(s) -
Ping Wang,
Peng Huang,
Rui Chen,
Guihua Zeng
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.433194
Subject(s) - quantum key distribution , transmittance , synchronization (alternating current) , computer science , frame (networking) , key (lock) , channel (broadcasting) , optics , quantum channel , frame synchronization , electronic engineering , real time computing , quantum , physics , telecommunications , quantum information , photon , engineering , quantum mechanics , computer security
Free-space continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) is an important technology that enables all-day quantum key distribution. Precise frame synchronization is a prerequisite for establishing a correlation between legitimate users of CV-QKD. In free-space CV-QKD, channel transmittance fluctuation caused by atmospheric turbulence increases the difficulty of synchronization. Also, as the channel transmittance is monitored in many reported experiments, the transmittance data also needs to be synchronized. We propose a novel method to solve the above problems by inserting two kinds of synchronization frames, i.e., data synchronization frames and transmittance synchronization frames. The performance of the proposed method is analyzed and Monte Carlo simulation is conducted to test its performance. The results demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of this method. The proposed method paves the way for the realization of free-space CV-QKD.