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 crypto...