Patent ID: 7580524
Filing Date: 2009-08-25
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for synchronizing an emitter and a receiver in an autocompensating quantum cryptography system comprising: two stations, one station being a quantum cryptography emitter, the other station being a quantum cryptography receiver, one channel linking the two stations, wherein the one channel is a quantum cryptography channel linking the quantum cryptography emitter with the quantum cryptography receiver as well as a synchronization channel connecting the quantum cryptography emitter and the quantum cryptography receiver, wherein the quantum cryptography emitter comprises an attenuator, a first time reference unit provided with one station, a second time reference unit provided with said other station, a synchronization unit provided with the second time reference unit in said other station, wherein the first time reference unit generates a synchronization signal at said one station and transmits it through said synchronization channel to said other station, wherein the second time reference unit operates as a slave unit and is synchronized with the first time reference unit operating as the master unit by a correction signal provided by the synchronization unit using information exchanged over the synchronization channel, wherein the timing of the electronic signals within the quantum cryptography system is based upon said master time reference signal, and wherein time reference of said synchronization signal generated by the first time reference unit consists of trains of intense pulses sent by the receiver to the emitter for key distribution in the autocompensating cryptography system through attenuation of the intense pulses through the attenuator of the emitter to a quantum level and reflection to the receiver.