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Chin. Phys. B, 2026, Vol. 35(4): 040310    DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/ae3605
SPECIAL TOPIC — Quantum communication and quantum network Prev   Next  

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with entanglement-assisted linear Bell state measurement

Cheng Zhang(张诚)1, Cheng Liu(刘成)2, Jiawei Ying(应佳伟)1, Shipu Gu(顾世浦)1, Lan Zhou(周澜)2, Yin Ma(马寅)3,†, Kang Gao(高亢)4, Hai Wei(魏海)3,4, Kai Wen(文凯)3,4, and Yubo Sheng(盛宇波)1,‡
1 College of Electronic and Optical Engineering, College of Flexible Electronics (Future Technology), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China;
2 College of Science, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China;
3 Beijing QBoson Quantum Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing 100015, China;
4 Quantum Science Center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen 518045, China
Abstract  Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI QKD) provides inherent immunity against attacks targeting practical measurement devices. Existing MDI QKD protocols all rely on Bell-state measurements (BSM) to establish correlations between the users. However, the success probability of linear-optics BSM is limited to 50%, which severely restricts the achievable key rate of MDI QKD. We propose a high-capacity MDI QKD protocol with entanglement-assisted linear-optical BSM. This protocol has three advantages. First, compared with the original MDI QKD, at least a 25% increase in the key rate can be achieved. Second, simulation results show that this protocol can effectively increase the maximum photon transmission distance of MDI QKD from 262 km to 272 km. Third, this protocol is feasible in a fully linear-optical system under current experimental conditions. Our protocol provides a potential approach for improving the performance of future quantum communication networks.
Keywords:  measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution      linear-optical Bell state measurement      entanglement assistance  
Received:  22 October 2025      Revised:  06 January 2026      Accepted manuscript online:  09 January 2026
PACS:  03.67.-a (Quantum information)  
  03.67.Ac (Quantum algorithms, protocols, and simulations)  
  03.67.Hk (Quantum communication)  
  03.67.Mn (Entanglement measures, witnesses, and other characterizations)  
Fund: Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12574393, 12175106, and 92365110), the Research Initiation Fund of the Quantum Science Center of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (Grant No. QD2305001), and the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. KYCX23-0989).
Corresponding Authors:  Yin Ma, Yubo Sheng     E-mail:  may@boseq.com;shengyb@njupt.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Cheng Zhang(张诚), Cheng Liu(刘成), Jiawei Ying(应佳伟), Shipu Gu(顾世浦), Lan Zhou(周澜), Yin Ma(马寅), Kang Gao(高亢), Hai Wei(魏海), Kai Wen(文凯), and Yubo Sheng(盛宇波) Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with entanglement-assisted linear Bell state measurement 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 040310

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