Efficient bit sifting scheme of post-processing in quantum key distribution

Bit sifting is an important step in the post-processing of quantum key distribution (QKD). Its function is to sift out the undetected original keys. The communication traffic of bit sifting has essential impact on the net secure key rate of a practical QKD system. In this paper, an efficient bit sifting scheme is presented, of which the core is a lossless source coding algorithm. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the performance of the scheme is approaching the Shannon limit. The proposed scheme can greatly decrease the communication traffic of the post-processing of a QKD system, which means the proposed scheme can decrease the secure key consumption for classical channel authentication and increase the net secure key rate of the QKD system, as demonstrated by analyzing the improvement on the net secure key rate. Meanwhile, some recommendations on the application of the proposed scheme to some representative practical QKD systems are also provided.