Field experiment on a robust hierarchical metropolitan quantum cryptography network

A hierarchical metropolitan quantum cryptography network upon the inner-city commercial telecom fiber cables is reported in this paper. The seven-user network contains a four-node backbone net with one node acting as the subnet gateway, a two-user subnet and a single-fiber access link, which is realized by the Faraday-Michelson interferometer set-ups. The techniques of the quantum router, optical switch and trusted relay are assembled here to guarantee the feasibility and expandability of the quantum cryptography network. Five nodes of the network are located in the government departments and the secure keys generated by the quantum key distribution network are utilized to encrypt the instant video, sound, text messages and confidential files transmitting between these bureaus. The whole implementation including the hierarchical quantum cryptographic communication network links and the corresponding application software shows a big step toward the practical user-oriented network with a high security level.