1-Mbps Twin-Field Quantum Key Distribution over 200 km Using Independent Dissipative Kerr Solitons

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2604.00431v1
• Date: Wed, 01 Apr 2026 03:20:00 GMT
• Title: 1-Mbps Twin-Field Quantum Key Distribution over 200 km Using Independent Dissipative Kerr Solitons
• Abstract summary: Twin-field quantum key distribution (TF-QKD) dramatically enhances the secure key rate (SKR) over inter-city distances.<n>Direct implementation of TF-QKD poses significant challenges as each wavelength channel requires an independent ultra-stable seed laser.<n>We employ two independent, integrated dissipative Kerr soliton (DKS) microcombs at Alice and Bob as multi-wavelength sources.
• Score: 24.351165747739557
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Twin-field quantum key distribution (TF-QKD) dramatically enhances the secure key rate (SKR) over inter-city distances through its square-root scaling. Further improvements in aggregate SKR can be achieved by wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) of parallel QKD channels. However, direct implementation in TF-QKD poses significant challenges, as each wavelength channel requires an independent ultra-stable seed laser, narrow-linewidth transmitters, and optical phase-locked loops (OPLLs), which are not easily scalable. Here, we circumvent these limitations by employing two independent, integrated dissipative Kerr soliton (DKS) microcombs at Alice and Bob as multi-wavelength sources. High-visibility single-photon interference across all wavelength channels is achieved by stabilizing the frequencies of every comb line - requiring only the stabilization of the pump wavelength and repetition rates of the two microcombs. Based on this architecture, we perform a full TF-QKD experiment using the sending-or-not-sending protocol, achieving a total SKR of 1.57 Mbps over 201.1 km of fiber using 16 DWDM channels. This result represents more than an order-of-magnitude enhancement compared with single-wavelength TF-QKD at the same distance. Given that a single DKS comb can support over 100 coherent lines across the C-band, this approach offers a scalable pathway toward high-rate quantum key distribution over inter-city distances.

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