Experimental coherent one-way quantum key distribution with simplicity and practical security.

ABSTRACT: Coherent one-way quantum key distribution (COW-QKD) has been widely investigated and even been deployed in real-world quantum network. However, the proposal of the zero-error attack has critically undermined its security guarantees, and existing experimental implementations have not yet established security against coherent attacks. In this work, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an information-theoretically secure COW-QKD protocol that can resist source side-channel attacks, with secure transmission distances up to 100 kilometers. Our system achieves a secure key rate on the order of kilobits per second over 50 kilometers in the finite-size regime, sufficient for real-time secure voice communication across metropolitan networks. Furthermore, we demonstrate the encrypted transmissi

SUBMITTER: Cao XY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12758545 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature