High speed quantum key distribution system supports one-time pad encryption of real-time video
Alan Mink, Xiao Hong Tang, Lijun Ma, Tassos Nakassis, Barry Hershman, Joshua C. Bienfang, David G. Su, Ronald F. Boisvert, Charles W. Clark, Carl J. Williams · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2006
NIST has developed a high-speed quantum key distribution (QKD) test bed incorporating both free-space and fiber systems. These systems demonstrate a major increase in the attainable rate of QKD systems: over two orders of magnitude faster than other systems. NIST's approach to high-speed QKD is based on a synchronous model with hardware support. Practical one-time pad encryption requires high key generation rates since one bit of key is needed for each bit of data to be encrypted. A one-time pad encrypted surveillance video application was developed and serves as a demonstration of the speed, robustness and sustainability of the NIST QKD systems. We discuss our infrastructure, both hardware and software, its operation and performance along with our migration to quantum networks.