Delta-sigma noise shaping for low-resolution quantization in Gaussian-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution

Abstract:Low-resolution digital-to-analog conversion can simplify continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) transmitters, but coarse quantization increases excess noise and can generate data-correlated spectral replicas. We demonstrate digital delta--sigma modulation (DSM) for low-resolution waveform generation in Gaussian-modulated CVQKD. In a 500-MBaud CVQKD system over 20~km of fiber, 3-bit second-order DSM achieves an estimated asymptotic secret key rate of 46.38~Mbps at an oversampling ratio of 12, whereas uniform quantization yields no positive rate. With 4-bit second-order DSM, the rate reaches 50.11~Mbps, approximately 97\% of the 12-bit reference. A noise model combining the DSM noise-transfer function with matched filtering guides the sampling-rate and signal-band design for effective noise suppression. We also identify a phase-conjugate spectral replica arising from third-order intermodulation between the pilot tone and quantum signal, and evaluate its key-rate penalty using a linear-replica security model. At 3-bit resolution and an oversampling ratio of 24, first-order DSM reduces the experimentally estimated leakage-mode strength by approximately four orders of magnitude. Together, our findings establish the security boundaries and operating conditions of DSM, providing design guidance for low-resolution CVQKD transmitters.

arXiv:2610.23654 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2610.23654v1 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.23654 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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