Key reconciliation of quantum key distribution is the process of correcting errors caused by channel noise and an eavesdropper. Reconciliation efficiency is the most important figure for judging the quality of a key reconciliation scheme. The single-matrix rate-compatible reconciliation (SRCR) scheme can access optimal reconciliation efficiency because of rate-compatible technologies, i.e., shortening and puncturing. In this paper, a technique called multimatrix reconciliation is introduced into SRCR, which is referred to as the multimatrix rate-compatible reconciliation (MRCR) scheme. Simulation results show that MRCR we proposed outperforms SRCR in reconciliation efficiency and throughput. In addition, it is observed that MRCR surpasses several non-low-density-parity-check-based reconciliation schemes in terms of comprehensive performance.

• Received 26 January 2020
• Revised 8 April 2020
• Accepted 13 July 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.102.022604