Researchers have developed a quantum key distribution (QKD) system based mostly on silicon photonics that may transmit safe keys at unprecedented speeds. The QKD transmitter (pictured) combines a photonic and electrical built-in circuit with an exterior diode laser. Credit score: Rebecka Sax, College of Geneva
Built-in photonics-based quantum key distribution system paves the way in which for community deployment.
Scientists have crafted a quantum key distribution (QKD) system rooted in built-in photonics, permitting for the transmission safe keys at unprecedented speeds These preliminary, proof-of-concept experiments function a major stride in the direction of the sensible deployment of this extremely safe communication method.
QKD, a confirmed method for creating confidential keys for protected communication amongst distant entities, leverages the quantum attributes of sunshine to create safe random keys. These keys are used for encrypting and decrypting knowledge. In contrast to present communication protocols that depend on computational complexity for safety, QKD’s safety is based on the rules of physics.
“A key aim for QKD know-how is the flexibility to easily combine it right into a real-world communications community,” mentioned analysis workforce member Rebecka Sax from the College of Geneva in Switzerland. “An vital and vital step towards this aim is the usage of built-in photonics, which permits optical methods to be manufactured utilizing the identical semiconductor know-how used to make silicon laptop chips.”
The silica-based QKD receiver proven consists of a photonic built-in circuit and two exterior single-photon detectors. Credit score: Simone Atzeni, CNR-IFN
Within the Optica Publishing Group journal Photonics Analysis, researchers led by the College of Geneva’s Hugo Zbinden describe their new QKD system, during which all parts are built-in onto chips besides the laser and detectors. This comes with many benefits comparable to compactness, low value, and ease of mass manufacturing.
“Though QKD can present safety for delicate functions comparable to banking, well being, and protection, it’s not but a widespread know-how,” mentioned Sax. “This work justifies the know-how maturity and helps deal with the technicalities round implementing it by way of optical built-in circuits, which might enable integration in networks and in different functions.”
Constructing a sooner chip-based system
In earlier work, the researchers developed a three-state time-bin QKD protocol that was carried out with commonplace fiber-based parts to realize QKD transmission at report excessive speeds.
“Our aim on this new work was to implement the identical protocol utilizing built-in photonics,” mentioned Sax. “The compactness, robustness, and ease of manipulation of an built-in photonic system — with fewer parts to confirm when implementing or to troubleshoot in a community — improves the place of QKD as a know-how for safe communication.”
QKD methods use a transmitter to ship the encoded photons and a receiver to detect them. Within the new work, the College of Geneva researchers collaborated with silicon photonics firm Sicoya GmbH in Berlin, Germany, and quantum cybersecurity firm ID Quantique in Geneva to develop a silicon photonics transmitter that mixes a photonic built-in circuit with an exterior diode laser.
The QKD receiver was fabricated from silica and consisted of a photonic built-in circuit and two exterior single-photon detectors. Roberto Osellame’s group at the CNR Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnology in Milano, Italy, used femtosecond laser micromachining to fabricate the receiver.
“For the transmitter, using an external laser with a photonic and electronic integrated circuit made it possible to accurately produce and encode photons at a record speed of up to 2.5 GHz,” said Sax. “For the receiver, a low-loss and polarization-independent photonic integrated circuit and a set of external detectors allowed passive and simple detection of the transmitted photons. Connecting these two components with a standard single-mode fiber enabled high-speed production of secret keys.”
Low-loss, high-speed transmission
After thoroughly characterizing the integrated transmitter and receiver, the researchers used it to perform a secret key exchange using different simulated fiber distances and with a 150-km long single-mode fiber and single-photon avalanche photodiodes, which are well-suited for practical implementations. They also performed experiments using single-photon superconducting nanowire detectors, which enabled a quantum bit error rate as low as 0.8%. The receiver not only featured polarization independence, which is complicated to achieve using integrated photonics but also presented extremely low loss, around 3 dB.
“In terms of secret key rate production and quantum bit error rates, these new experiments produced results that are similar to those of previous experiments performed using fiber-based components,” said Sax. “However, the QKD system is much simpler and more practical than the previous experimental setups, thus displaying the feasibility of using this protocol with integrated circuits.”
The researchers are now working to house the system parts in a simple rack enclosure that would allow QKD to be implemented in a network system.
Reference: “High-speed integrated QKD system” by Rebecka Sax, Alberto Boaron, Gianluca Boso, Simone Atzeni, Andrea Crespi, Fadri Grünenfelder, Davide Rusca, Aws Al-Saadi, Danilo Bronzi, Sebastian Kupijai, Hanjo Rhee, Roberto Osellame and Hugo Zbinden, 25 May 2023, Photonics Research.
DOI: 10.1364/PRJ.481475