Crosstalk Impact on Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution in Multicore Fiber Transmission

We investigate the excess noise induced by crosstalk in a trench-assisted homogeneous 19-core fiber for a continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) receiver. Crosstalk is studied for both 30 wavelength division multiplexing channels of 24.5-Gbaud PM-16QAM with 100-GHz channel spacing and for an amplified spontaneous emission signal with 37.5-GHz bandwidth. We show that in-band crosstalk from neighboring cores prohibits secret key generation. However, it is possible to place CV-QKD channels at wavelengths not used by the classical channels even though wideband amplified spontaneous emission noise is present. The excess noise induced by crosstalk from a neighboring core is shown to be time-dependent.