Some basic considerations for the experimental realisation of a quantum key distribution (QKD) system are discussed in this paper. Among them are the wavelength of the photon source and the composition of the transmission channel. In particular, the advantages and disadvantages of using either λ ~ 850nm or λ ~ 1300/1550nm for the source’s wavelength are analysed along with a comparison of the performance of optical fibre versus free space as the physical medium for the transmission channel.
Ministerio of Educación y Ciencia, proyecto TSI2007_62657 and CDTI, Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio (Spain), in collaboration with Telefónica I+D, Project SEGUR@ with reference CENIT-2007 2004
Peer reviewed