Quantum key distribution in single-photon communication system

Abstract

This paper presents a brief review of experimental studies in quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution by single photons in atmospheric and fiber-optic quantum communication channels. Two experimental setups for quantum key distribution developed at the Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS are described. The dependence of the quantum key distribution rate on the average number of photons μ in the laser pulse was studied. For μ > 0.3, there is a discrepancy between theory and experiment. The reasons for this are, first, the nonzero probability of multiphoton pulses occurring in quantum transmission and counted as single photons by single-photon detectors and, second, the rejection of the cases where several single-photon detectors click simultaneously in quantum key sifting because the measurement result is not determined in these cases.