Reference Clock Signal Distribution for Quantum Key Distribution

• Mariana F. Ramos Instituto de Telecomunicações / Universidade de Aveiro
• Nuno A. Silva Instituto de Telecomunicações
• Nelson J. Muga Instituto de Telecomunicações
• Armando N. Pinto Instituto de Telecomunicações / Universidade de Aveiro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/wquantum.2021.17224

Resumo

Quantum key distribution (QKD) requires high synchronization accuracy, specially in systems that use gated detectors at the receiver station. In this work, we present a reference clock distribution method to support long-term QKD. An average quantum bit error rate (QBER) of 1.8% was measured, which is suitable for different QKD implementations. This method is suitable for longdistance and long-term QKD implementations and does not require additional transmitted qubits for synchronization.

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