Quantum Key Distribution: from Principles to Practicalities

Dagmar Bruß, Norbert Lütkenhaus

Published 1999-01-20, updated 1999-09-14Version 2

We review the main protocols for key distribution based on principles of quantum mechanics, describing the general underlying ideas, discussing implementation requirements and pointing out directions of current experiments. The issue of security is addressed both from a principal and real-life point of view.