Everything about Quantum key distribution
Secure communication method
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a secure communication method that implements a cryptographic protocol based on the laws of quantum mechanics, specifically quantum entanglement, the measurement-disturbance principle, and the no-cloning theorem. The goal of QKD is to enable two parties to produce a shared random secret key known only to them, which then can be used to encrypt and decrypt messages. This means, when QKD is correctly implemented, one would need to violate fundamental physical principles to break a quantum protocol. The QKD process should not be confused with quantum cryptography in general. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: Quantum key distributionA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Twin-field quantum key distribution over 830-km fibreInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: The Jepson ManualThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: The security of practical quantum key distributionCited 3,414 times
- Go sideways: BB84A closely related topic
- Go sideways: Quantum cryptographyA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
No dictionary entry for this exact phrase.
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
The security of practical quantum key distribution
Quantum cryptography: Public key distribution and coin tossing
Decoy State Quantum Key Distribution
Secure quantum key distribution
SECURITY OF QUANTUM KEY DISTRIBUTION
Timestamps in key distribution protocols
Chip-based quantum key distribution
Quantum Key Distribution
🆕 Influential since 2022
Twin-field quantum key distribution over 830-km fibre
The Evolution of Quantum Key Distribution Networks: On the Road to the Qinternet
Experimental Twin-Field Quantum Key Distribution over 1000 km Fiber Distance
Mode-pairing quantum key distribution
Quantum Key Distribution Networks - Key Management: A Survey
📚 Books worth reading
The Jepson ManualJepson, Willis Linn · 1993- 📕Opportunistic sightings of bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, along the southeast Florida coast and Florida Bay, 1992-1997 · 2000
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- BB84 The BB84 protocol, invented in 1984 by Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard who later won the 2025 ACM A.M. Turing Award for their invention, is a prepare-and-me…
- Quantum cryptography Quantum cryptography is the exploiting of quantum-mechanical properties such as quantum entanglement, measurement disturbance, no-cloning theorem, and…
- Six-state protocol The six-state protocol (SSP) is the quantum cryptography protocol that is the version of BB84 that uses a six-state polarization scheme on three orthogonal…
- Decoy state In quantum cryptography, a decoy state protocol is a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme. Practical QKD systems use multi-photon sources, in contrast…
- BBM92 protocol BBM92 is a quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol named after Charles H. Bennett, Gilles Brassard and N. David Mermin in 1992. The BBM92 is an entanglement…
- List of quantum key distribution protocols Quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols are used in quantum key distribution. The first protocol of that kind was BB84, introduced in 1984 by Charles…
- Three-stage quantum cryptography protocol The three-stage quantum cryptography protocol, also known as Kak's three-stage protocol is a method of data encryption that uses random polarization rotations…
- SARG04 SARG04 (named after Valerio Scarani, Antonio Acín, Gregoire Ribordy, and Nicolas Gisin) is a 2004 quantum cryptography protocol derived from the first…