QKD protected fiber-based infrastructure for time dissemination
In this study, we demonstrate the possibility to protect, with Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a critical infrastructure as the fiber-based one used for time and frequency (TF) dissemination service. The proposed technique allows to disseminate secure and precise TF signals between two fiber-optic-connected locations, on a critical infrastructure, using both QKD and White Rabbit technique. This secure exchange enables the secret sharing of time information between two parties, allowing the synchronization of distant clocks with a stability of [Formula: see text] at 1 s, traceable to the Italian time scale. When encrypted, the time signals provide no useful information to a third party regarding the synchronization status, resulting in a time stability degraded by two orders of magnitude.
Authors
- Silvia Di Bartolo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9482-8340)
- Alice Meda
- Marco Genovese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9186-8849)
- Andrea Geraldi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5390-0155)
- Ivo Pietro Degiovanni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0332-3115)
- Mauro Valeri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1094-6839)
- Davide Calonico (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0345-859X)
- Alessio Avella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2148-6228)
- Alberto Mura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8922-4729)
- Filippo Levi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0206-9082)
- Tommaso Catuogno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8499-0077)
- Salvatore Virzì (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9067-5970)
- Mattia Verducci
Institutions
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2025-04-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-97480-8
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Optical Network Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.73
Funders
- European Commission
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme