Chinese researchers have made a major breakthrough in the field of quantum communication with the development of a high-speed quantum key distribution (QKD) system. The QKD system is capable of generating secret keys at a rate exceeding 110 Mb/s over a 10 km standard optical fiber, setting a new world record in the field. This breakthrough is expected to have significant implications for the large-scale application of quantum communication and quantum networks.
According to Xu Feihu, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), the development of this high-speed QKD system marks a major milestone in quantum communication research. The technology offers a more secure and efficient method for transmitting sensitive information over long distances, and could potentially be used in a range of industries, including finance, healthcare, and defense.
The successful implementation of this technology is the result of years of research and development by Chinese scientists, who have worked tirelessly to overcome a range of technical challenges in the field of quantum communication. The research findings have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Photonics, highlighting the importance and significance of this breakthrough to the wider scientific community.
Moving forward, researchers hope to build on this breakthrough and continue to develop new and innovative solutions to the challenges of quantum communication. This could lead to a new era of secure and efficient communication, paving the way for a range of new applications and industries in the future. The high-speed QKD system developed by Chinese researchers represents a major step forward in this journey, offering a glimpse into the exciting possibilities of quantum communication technology.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) has emerged as a promising solution for secure communication. The primary advantage of QKD is that it provides fundamentally proven security by exploiting the principles of quantum mechanics. One of the key parameters that determine the feasibility of QKD systems is the secret key rate (SKR), which represents the rate at which secret keys can be generated. However, the SKR of existing QKD systems has been limited to a few megabits per second, which is a bottleneck for their practical applications.
According to Xu Feihu, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Chinese scientists have made a breakthrough in this area. They have developed a high-speed QKD system that can generate secret keys at a rate exceeding 110 Mb/s over a 10 km standard optical fiber, setting a new world record in the field. This achievement represents a significant milestone in the development of QKD technology and paves the way for its large-scale deployment in practical scenarios.
The previous record for the highest SKR achieved by QKD systems was around 10 Mb/s over a 10 km standard optical fiber, which was held by the international academic community. The new achievement by Chinese scientists represents a remarkable improvement in the SKR and demonstrates the superiority of their QKD system. The high-speed QKD system has the potential to revolutionize the field of secure communication and enable new applications that were not possible before.
The research findings were published in the journal Nature Photonics on Tuesday, which has attracted significant attention from the scientific community. The breakthrough by Chinese scientists is expected to inspire further research in the field of quantum communication and drive the development of QKD technology towards practical applications. The high-speed QKD system developed by Chinese scientists represents a significant step forward in the quest for secure and reliable communication.
A team of Chinese physicists, led by Pan Jianwei and Xu Feihu from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), collaborated with researchers from other Chinese institutes and universities to develop a high-speed quantum key distribution (QKD) system. The team included researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology, and the Harbin Institute of Technology.
Their QKD system is capable of generating secret keys at an unprecedented rate of 115.8 Mb/s over a 10 km standard optical fiber. The system is also capable of distributing keys over up to 328 km of ultralow-loss fiber. This is a significant improvement over the previously recorded highest SKR of 10 Mb/s over a 10 km standard optical fiber among the international academic community, according to Xu.
The QKD system’s ability to generate secret keys at such a high rate and distribute them over long distances makes it a breakthrough in the field of quantum communication and network. Xu Feihu highlighted the significance of the breakthrough for the large-scale application of quantum communication and quantum network.
The research findings were published in the journal Nature Photonics on Tuesday. The system has been running stably for over 50 hours, indicating its reliability and potential for practical applications. With the development of this high-speed QKD system, there is the potential for faster, more secure communication and network applications in the future.
Xu highlighted that the exceptional performance of the newly developed QKD system is made possible by several technological advancements. These include the use of a multipixel superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with an ultrahigh counting rate, an integrated transmitter that can encode polarization states with low error, a fast post-processing algorithm for generating keys in real-time, and high system clock rate operation.
The multipixel superconducting nanowire single-photon detector enables the system to detect single photons with high efficiency and low noise, enabling high-speed key generation. Additionally, the integrated transmitter is designed to encode polarization states with low error, ensuring that the system can generate keys with high accuracy.
Furthermore, the fast post-processing algorithm used by the QKD system enables real-time key generation, allowing for immediate and secure communication. Finally, the high system clock rate operation ensures that the system can operate at high speeds and efficiently generate keys over long distances.
The researchers believe that the QKD system’s impressive results demonstrate the feasibility of practical high-rate QKD, which can meet the needs of high-bandwidth communication. This breakthrough could lead to widespread applications of quantum communication in various fields.
In conclusion, the technological advancements made in the multipixel superconducting nanowire single-photon detector, integrated transmitter, fast post-processing algorithm, and high system clock rate operation have contributed to the record high SKR achieved by the QKD system. The system’s ability to generate keys at a high rate and over long distances makes it a promising candidate for practical applications in high-bandwidth communication.
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