Loss-Tolerant Measurement-Device-Independent QKD over Untrusted Repeaters via High-Dimensional Time-Bin Multiplexing

Abstract

We propose a loss-tolerant measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol using time-bin-multiplexed single photons entangled with local qubits stored in nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. In each round, Alice and Bob each send a single multiplexed photon to an untrusted intermediary, Charlie. Each photon first becomes entangled with Charlie's NV-center qubits; Charlie then performs entanglement swapping between his NV qubits to establish EPR pairs between Alice's and Bob's local qubits. With $d$ time bins per photon, $\log_2 d + 1$ EPR pairs can be generated per transmitted photon, substantially increasing the probability of EPR-pair creation under limited channel bandwidth. To further mitigate the effects of prolonged memory storage, the protocol employs a memory-insensitive (MI) architecture, where multiple banks of qubits and multiplexed photon routing reduce the effective memory lifetime requirements. This approach enhances loss tolerance, enabling higher secret key rates and secure key distribution over longer distances compared to conventional single-photon protocols. Using the Lo-Chau EPR-QKD framework and Shor-Preskill reduction, we prove that the protocol is secure without trusting intermediate nodes, making it suitable for quantum networks with untrusted repeaters.