We review our efforts in integrating optical hardware for quantum key distribution onto photonic chips and in engineering the first standalone photonic integrated QKD system. Our approach tackles various system integration challenges related to packaging, optoelectronic design and power consumption. The quantum hardware is assembled in pluggable interconnects that guarantee efficient thermal management and forward compatibility of a same host electronics with successive generations of chips. Autonomous operation and long-term stability are demonstrated in realistic operation conditions. Our work offers new pathways for practical implementations of QKD and its viable deployment at large scales.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) offers the highest possible levels of communication secrecy. Using the laws of quantum mechanics, QKD protocols allow two distant parties to establish symmetric encryption keys that can be proven information theoretically secure. In order to make this technology accessible to a wide range of sectors, it is essential to address the questions of cost, volume production and compatibility with standard Telecom/Datacom infrastructures. While over the last few years, a number of works were devoted to the demonstration of photonic integrated circuits for quantum communications, a practical solution to interface these chips in a complete system remained an elusive goal. We review our efforts in integrating the core optical functions of quantum key distribution onto quantum photonic chips and in demonstrating the first standalone photonic integrated QKD system. Our approach tackles various system integration challenges related to packaging, optoelectronic design and power consumption. The quantum hardware is assembled in pluggable interconnects that guarantee efficient thermal management and forward compatibility of a same host electronics with successive generations of chips. Autonomous operation and long-term stability are demonstrated in realistic operation conditions. Our work offers new pathways for practical implementations of QKD and its viable deployment at large scales.
For the adoption of QKD to grow, much effort has been devoted to making QKD systems more robust and efficient. Much of the complexity of a QKD system stems from its transmitter where quantum states encoded with bit values are prepared. Recently, optical injection locking (OIL) has emerged as a promising method to realize high-speed QKD transmitters with a compact design. This approach enables direct phase encoding without the need for external modulators, while simultaneously improving the laser characteristics. Due to these remarkable advantages, OIL has been widely applied to many QKD protocols, including BB84, MDI-QKD and TF-QKD. However, in practice, tuning the laser system to find optimal operating parameters is a very challenging task. This is because the underlying laser dynamics are rich and involve a complex interplay between multiple control parameters. It is therefore highly desirable to develop an efficient method to optimize the systems. Here, for the first time, we address this issue by demonstrating a self-tuning QKD transmitter by implementing a genetic algorithm to autonomously locate the optimum system parameters. Without any user intervention, our approach manages to optimize the quantum bit error rate down to ~2.5%, matching the state-of-the-art performance.
Integrated photonics presents an opportunity for low-cost, lightweight and highly-reproducible quantum cryptographic systems. We show that incorporating integrated photonics within pluggable modules a chip-based QKD system operating in real time and with highly competitive secure key rates can be realised with room temperature single photon detectors. The pluggable modules also benefit from their ability to be easily upgraded and replaced so that as the technology matures the system performance can be further enhanced. We also show that our system can be used with standard classical cryptography systems enabling secure data transfer at 100G.
A complete chip-based quantum communication system is demonstrated. The core functions of quantum transmitter, quantum receiver and quantum random number generator are implemented onto photonic integrated circuits (PICs) of different materials. For the first time, these PICs are all interfaced in a compact optoelectronic assembly where they operate synchronously to distribute information theoretically secure encryption keys in real-time. After reviewing the challenges of system integration for quantum photonic circuits, we present our development of plug-and-play quantum communication modules that are practical, scalable, power efficient and perform with high stability under real-life conditions.
The practical combination of quantum cryptography and classical communications will require convergence of their technologies. In this pivotal time where both fields are transitioning towards photonic integrated architectures, it is essential to develop devices that fully leverage their hardware compatibilities, while still addressing the key issues of cost reduction, miniaturization and infrastructure energetic footprint, essential for future high- bandwidth, low-latency networks. Here, we address these issues by developing an on-chip transmitter consisting of just 3 building blocks but capable of transmitting both quantum encrypted photons and classical multi-level modulation signals. By combining optical injection locking and direct phase modulation we are able to encode pulse trains with multiple levels of differential phase, without the need of high-speed electro-optic modulators and their associated power footprint. We generate return-to-zero differential phase shift keying signals with up to 16 distinct levels. Moreover, we demonstrate multi-protocol quantum key distribution delivering state-of-the-art secure key rates. Our on-chip transmitter will facilitate the flexible combination of quantum and classical communications within a single, power-efficient device that can readily be integrated in existing high connectivity networks.
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