Mainz 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 29: Poster – Quantum Technologies I

Q 29.7: Poster

Dienstag, 3. März 2026, 17:00–19:00, Philo 2. OG

Towards consumer-level quantum-secure cryptography using entanglement-based short-range quantum-key-distribution — •Marco Arnds, Luca Graf, Vincent Reißmann, and Ralf Riedinger — Institute for Quantum Physics, Hamburg, Germany

Quantum key distribution (QKD), which generates a cryptographic key via a quantum channel, has paved the way for physically secure communication. Over the last decades, most efforts in developing QKD focused on long-distance implementations, which are costly and challenging due to exponential losses of photons in quantum channels. An alternative approach is hybrid cryptography, where key distribution occurs over short distances, followed by quantum-secure classical encryption over long distances. Initially, an information-theoretically secure Root-of-Trust is exchanged via a quantum channel, which is stored on two end modules. Afterwards, this Root-of-Trust can be employed to generate encryption keys through a classical rekeying algorithm. In this approach, it is possible to spatially separate the end modules and communicate over existing classical infrastructure, since no quantum channel is required after initialisation. We present a compact source for entangled photon pairs that enables short-range QKD. In future work, we aim to implement low-cost end modules based on semiconductor electronics for the detection scheme of the experimental setup.

Keywords: QKD; Quantum communication; Quantum technology; Sagnac interferometer