Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with ensemble-based memories

TL;DR

This paper investigates the use of ensemble-based quantum memories in measurement-device-independent QKD, highlighting challenges due to multiple-excitation effects and proposing an alternative setup to improve key distribution rates.

Contribution

It introduces the analysis of ensemble-based memories in MDI-QKD and proposes a new setup to mitigate detrimental multiple-excitation effects.

Findings

Ensemble-based memories face significant multiple-excitation challenges.

The proposed setup can potentially overcome these challenges.

Secret key rates are derived for systems with imperfect single-photon sources.

Abstract

Quantum memories are enabling devices for extending the reach of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. The required specifications for memories are, however, often considered too demanding for available technologies. One can change this mindset by introducing memory-assisted measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD), which imposes less stringent conditions on the memory modules. It has been shown that, in the case of {\em fast} single-qubit memories, we can reach rates and distances not attainable by single no-memory QKD links. Single-qubit memories, such as single atoms or ions, have, currently, too slow of an access time to offer an advantage in practice. Here, we relax that assumption, and consider ensemble-based memories, which satisfy the main two requirements of having short access times and large storage-bandwidth products. Our results, however, suggest that the multiple-excitation effects in such memories can be so detrimental that they may wash away the scaling improvement offered by memory-equipped systems. We then propose an alternative setup that can in principle remedy the above problem. As a prelude to our main problem, we also obtain secret key generation rates for MDI-QKD systems that rely on imperfect single-photon sources with nonzero probabilities of emitting two photons.