Synchronization and Resource Allocation in Quantum Key Distribution Optical Networks

Nowadays, network security has attracted more and more attention with confidential and sensitive information in critical areas such as government, military and finance, etc. Quantum key distribution (QKD) can share unconditional security of keys between two remote parties based on information theory and the laws of quantum physics, which is considered as a promising solution to guarantee networks' security. For Quantum key distribution optical networks (QKD-ONs), synchronization technology plays a fundamental role in its development. In this paper, we introduce a synchronization scheme in QKD-ON which provides a method to measure the synchronization precision. Base on this, a multi-path optimal resource allocation (MPORA) algorithm is proposed to improve the successful probability of encryption service and the utilization of key resources on the premise of ensuring the quality of QKD-ON synchronization.