Analysis of differential-phase-shift keying protocol for 1.55μm up-conversion single-photon detector

The properties of 1.55 mum up-conversion single-photon detector are analyzed using the differential-phase-shift keying (DPSK) protocol. We compare the error rate and the communication rate as a function of distance for three quantum key distribution QKD protocols: the Bennett-Brassard 1984, the Bennett-Brassard-Mermin 1992, and the DPSK. We show that the significant advantage of the up-conversion detector than the commonly used InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode (APD), and the properties of QKD can be greatly improved by using this detector.