TY - GEN
T1 - Optical IRS Assisted Relay Architecture for Enhancing LOS Quantum Key Distribution Links
AU - Al-Maadeed, Given Hamda
AU - Abunada, Nadeen
AU - Ammuri, Rula
AU - Dabiri, Mohammad Taghi
AU - Ghanbari, Meysam
AU - Qaraqe, Khalid
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 IEEE
PY - 2026
Y1 - 2026
N2 - Free-space quantum key distribution (FSQKD) enables secure key exchange without fixed infrastructure, but its practical deployment is severely limited by line-of-sight blockage and sensitivity to geometric and atmospheric impairments. This paper investigates an optical intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)assisted quantum communication architecture that establishes an effective indirect path when the direct link is unavailable. An end-to-end channel model is developed for the cascaded transmitter-IRS-receiver link, jointly accounting for geometric coupling losses, IRS phase control, pointing and alignment errors, atmospheric attenuation, and turbulence. The derived model is directly linked to quantum performance metrics, enabling tractable evaluation of the quantum bit error rate and secret key rate. Numerical results demonstrate that IRS-assisted links can substantially enhance robustness against misalignment and reveal an optimal beam-radius configuration that balances geometric loss and pointing-error resilience. The proposed framework provides design-level insight for reliable IRS-assisted FS-QKD under practical channel conditions.
AB - Free-space quantum key distribution (FSQKD) enables secure key exchange without fixed infrastructure, but its practical deployment is severely limited by line-of-sight blockage and sensitivity to geometric and atmospheric impairments. This paper investigates an optical intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)assisted quantum communication architecture that establishes an effective indirect path when the direct link is unavailable. An end-to-end channel model is developed for the cascaded transmitter-IRS-receiver link, jointly accounting for geometric coupling losses, IRS phase control, pointing and alignment errors, atmospheric attenuation, and turbulence. The derived model is directly linked to quantum performance metrics, enabling tractable evaluation of the quantum bit error rate and secret key rate. Numerical results demonstrate that IRS-assisted links can substantially enhance robustness against misalignment and reveal an optimal beam-radius configuration that balances geometric loss and pointing-error resilience. The proposed framework provides design-level insight for reliable IRS-assisted FS-QKD under practical channel conditions.
KW - Quantum Channel Modeling
KW - Quantum key distribution (QKD)
KW - field of v iew (FoV)
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105041645814
U2 - 10.1109/ICETES68504.2026.11518890
DO - 10.1109/ICETES68504.2026.11518890
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105041645814
T3 - 2026 1st International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Engineering Systems, ICETES 2026 - Proceeding
SP - 477
EP - 483
BT - 2026 1st International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Engineering Systems, ICETES 2026 - Proceeding
A2 - Abu-Shareha, Ahmad Adel
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 1st International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Engineering Systems, ICETES 2026
Y2 - 7 April 2026 through 9 April 2026
ER -