Entanglement measurement-device-independent Quantum Key Distribution

Abstract

We propose a measurement-device-independent Quantum Key Distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol using weak coherent states and entanglement from weak coherent pulses. To overcome the side channel attacks, the sender and the receiver use decoy states to verify the security of the quantum channel. Then, they use uncorrelated entangled pairs to establish a correlated entanglement between them. The protocol establishes entangled communication channel between the sender and the receiver without performing the quantum distillation protocol. The protocol provides protection against side channel attacks such as photon-number-splitting (PNS). During the communication process, each party chooses to prepare a decoy state or a signal state. Then, they send their signals to a third party who performs Bell state measurement and then announces the measurement result. Using the information from the third party, who also could be an attacker, the sender and the receiver analyze the communication channel for any abnormalities. After verifying the security of the communication channel, the sender and the receiver establish the entanglement together for sharing secret keys.