Quantum stream cipher by the Yuen 2000 protocol: Design and experiment by an intensity-modulation scheme

Abstract

We investigate the Yuen 2000 (so-called Y-00)-protocol, which can realize a randomized stream cipher with high bit rate (Gbit/s) for long distances (several hundreds km). The randomized stream cipher with randomization by quantum noise based on the Y-00 protocol is called a quantum stream cipher in this paper, and it may have security against known plaintext attacks which has no analog with any conventional symmetric key ciphers. We present a simple cryptanalysis based on an attacker's heterodyne measurement and a quantum unambiguous measurement to make clear the strength of the Y-00 protocol in real communication. In addition, we give a design for the implementation of an intensity-modulation scheme and report an experimental demonstration of $1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Gbit}∕\mathrm{s}$ quantum stream cipher through a $20\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{km}$-long transmission line.