PAGE CONTENTS
Objectives
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) aims to solve the problem of key exchange by the use of quantum mechanics and thus offers the potential of ensuring “unconditional secure” key exchange for encrypted communication. For the identification of practical scenarios for QKD from space and in particular with regard to the limited computational/communication resources available on a satellite the following 4 objectives are covered by the project activities:
- 1. Development of a model (analytical or numerical) to calculate and optimize the performance parameters of suitable QKD links, taking into account:
- Quantum channel characteristics
- QKD protocol parameters
- Post-processing requirements
- Integration of the model into a software suite, used to identify the performance limitations of the selected protocols and implementation scenarios. The obtained results shall be complemented with an assessment of:
- Technological state-of-the-art of required hardware/software components
- Potential side-channels
- Protocol security level under realistic conditions
- Assessment of the TRL level of the hardware components that need to be launched to space for implementing the QKD protocol between space and ground.
- Proposal of a technology development roadmap of the critical hardware for selected QKD implementations and analysis of the impact on the protocol performance.
Challenges
QTL has a strong scientific background related to space-based quantum key distribution implicating an overview of scientific literature and the technology relevant for QKD implementations, in particular for space applications. Concerning the timely satisfaction of the requirements of the activity, the preliminary results already presented show that the basic software framework is already existing at QTL. Additionally, essential QKD protocols are already integrated, and large parts of the software can be reused for the integration of additional QKD protocols. Based on these facts, we don’t anticipate challenges that could have a severe impact on the work carried out during the activity.
System Architecture
The software framework consists of 4 modules:
Module 1: Optical Quantum Channel
- allows calculating and optimizing various quantum channel parameters
Module 2: Protocol specific performance and security analysis
- allows simulating the QKD protocol performance during the quantum communication phase for given parameter sets
- allows establishing the security level of specific QKD protocols
Module 3: Post-Processing
- allows simulating the parameter estimation phase of the QKD protocol
- allows calculating post-processing requirements with respect to resources related to classical communication and computation
Module 4: Optimization
- allows optimizing the full parameters set for a QKD protocol with regard to different target functions
QTL’s software framework constitutes a relevant part for simulating the performance of selected QKD protocols but is not subject to any IP Rights.
Plan
Duration: 6 months
Milestone 1:
- Negotiation Meeting, before contract signature
- Kick-off Meeting, M0, video-/telephone conference
- Progress Meeting 1, end of WP 200, M1, video-/telephone conference
- Mid Term Review Meeting, end of WP 300, M4
completed with the acceptance of all deliverable items at the Mid Term Review
Milestone 2:
- Progress Meeting 2, end of WP 400, M5, video-/telephone conference
- Final Review Meeting, end of WP 500, M6
- Final Presentation, Contract Closure, Date is TBD, end of M6
completed with the final presentation and acceptance of the End-of-Contract documentation
Current Status
Based on a broad literature research, the three most promising QKD protocols among the currently known and secure ones have been selected. It was shown that these protocols can reliably fulfil the theoretical assumptions in a practical scenario, even in harsh environmental conditions. Hence, they can safely be regarded as information-theoretically secure and thus protected by quantum physics laws. To further analyse the impact of the specific characteristics of the protocols, the employed satellite constellation (LEO, MEO, GEO), and other relevant technology-related parameters, QTLabs developed a simulation software for the different QKD protocols. As a result of a first broad performance study it was shown that suitable amounts of secure quantum key can be generated in general and that the technology is ready for further development towards space readiness.
The current study, however, did not investigate the immense potential that lies in the general mission design, which constitutes an important next step for further investigations.
