Custom Hardware to Eliminate Bottlenecks in QKD Throughput Performance

reportActive / Technical Report | Accession Number: ADA506849 | Open PDF

Abstract:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST high-speed quantum key distribution QKD system was designed to include custom hardware to support the generation and management of gigabit data streams. As our photonics improved our software sifting algorithm couldnt keep up with the amount of data generated. To eliminate this problem we implemented the sifting algorithm into our programmable chip FPGA hardware, gaining a factor of 50x improvement in the sifting capacity rate. As we increased the distance and speed of our QKD systems, we discovered a number of other performance bottlenecks in our custom hardware. We discuss those bottlenecks along with a new custom hardware design that will alleviate them, resulting in an order of magnitude increase in capacity of secret key generation rate.

Author(s):
Mink, Alan
Author Organization(s):
NATIONAL INST OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY GAITHERSBURG MD
Descriptive Note:
Conference paper
Supplementary Note:
Presented at the SPIE Optics East: Next-generation Photonic Sensor Technologies Conference held in Boston, Massachusetts on 8-12 September 2007. Published in the Proceedings of the SPIE Optics East: Next-generation Photonic Sensor Technologies Conference, v6780 p678014-1/678014-6, September 2007. The original document contains color images.
Pagination:
0007

Security Markings

DOCUMENT & CONTEXTUAL SUMMARY

Distribution:
Approved For Public Release
Distribution Statement:
Approved For Public Release; Distribution Is Unlimited.

RECORD

Collection: TR
Identifying Numbers
Monitor Series:
DARPA
 Subject Terms
Joint Capability Areas:
JCA_5_Command and Control; JCA_5.5.2_Task; JCA_5.5_Direct
Modernization Areas:
Quantum Science and Computing
Communities of Interest:
Advanced Electronics
Descriptor(s):
*DATA TRANSMISSION SECURITY, *QUANTUM COUNTERS, *OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS, *THROUGHPUT, REPRINTS, SYMPOSIA, HIGH RATE, CAPACITY(QUANTITY), DISTRIBUTION, QUANTUM THEORY, COMPUTER PROGRAMMING, RATES, CHIPS(ELECTRONICS), FIBER OPTICS TRANSMISSION LINES, COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS, PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS, DATA PROCESSING, FIBER OPTICS, FIELD PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAYS, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, ALGORITHMS
Field(s)/Group(s):
Computer Programming and Software, Miscellaneous Detection and Detectors, Fiber Optics and Integrated Optics, Quantum Theory and Relativity, Command, Control and Communications Systems
Keyword(s):
*QKD(QUANTUM KEY DISTRIBUTION), *NIST(NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY), *BOTTLENECKS, RECONCILIATION, PRIVACY AMPLIFICAITON, FPGA(FIELD PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAYS), PCB(PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS), DATA STREAMS, SIFTING ALGORITHMS
Report Date:
2007 Sep 01
Creation Date:
2009 Oct 28