65 research outputs found
Integrated Silicon Photonics for High-Speed Quantum Key Distribution
Integrated photonics offers great potential for quantum communication devices
in terms of complexity, robustness and scalability. Silicon photonics in
particular is a leading platform for quantum photonic technologies, with
further benefits of miniaturisation, cost-effective device manufacture and
compatibility with CMOS microelectronics. However, effective techniques for
high-speed modulation of quantum states in standard silicon photonic platforms
have been limited. Here we overcome this limitation and demonstrate high-speed
low-error quantum key distribution modulation with silicon photonic devices
combining slow thermo-optic DC biases and fast (10~GHz bandwidth)
carrier-depletion modulation. The ability to scale up these integrated circuits
and incorporate microelectronics opens the way to new and advanced integrated
quantum communication technologies and larger adoption of quantum-secured
communications
Interference between independent photonic integrated devices for quantum key distribution
Advances in quantum computing are a rapidly growing threat towards modern
cryptography. Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides long-term security
without assuming the computational power of an adversary. However,
inconsistencies between theory and experiment have raised questions in terms of
real-world security, while large and power-hungry commercial systems have
slowed wide-scale adoption. Measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD)
provides a method of sharing secret keys that removes all possible detector
side-channel attacks which drastically improves security claims. In this
letter, we experimentally demonstrate a key step required to perform MDI-QKD
with scalable integrated devices. We show Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between
weak coherent states carved from two independent indium phosphide transmitters
at MHz with a visibility of . This work demonstrates the
feasibility of using integrated devices to lower a major barrier towards
adoption of QKD in metropolitan networks
Chip-Based Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution
Modern communication strives towards provably secure systems which can be
widely deployed. Quantum key distribution provides a methodology to verify the
integrity and security of a key exchange based on physical laws. However,
physical systems often fall short of theoretical models, meaning they can be
compromised through uncharacterized side-channels. The complexity of detection
means that the measurement system is a vulnerable target for an adversary.
Here, we present secure key exchange up to 200 km while removing all
side-channels from the measurement system. We use mass-manufacturable,
monolithically integrated transmitters that represent an accessible,
quantum-ready communication platform. This work demonstrates a network topology
that allows secure equipment sharing which is accessible with a cost-effective
transmitter, significantly reducing the barrier for widespread uptake of
quantum-secured communication
Secure NFV Orchestration Over an SDN-Controlled Optical Network With Time-Shared Quantum Key Distribution Resources
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a state-of-the-art method of generating cryptographic keys by exchanging single photons. Measurements on the photons are constrained by the laws of quantum mechanics, and it is from this that the keys derive their security. Current public key encryption relies on mathematical problems that cannot be solved efficiently using present-day technologies; however, it is vulnerable to computational advances. In contrast QKD generates truly random keys secured against computational advances and more general attacks when implemented properly. On the other hand, networks are moving towards a process of softwarization with the main objective to reduce cost in both, the deployment and in the network maintenance. This process replaces traditional network functionalities (or even full network instances) typically performed in network devices to be located as software distributed across commodity data centers. Within this context, network function virtualization (NFV) is a new concept in which operations of current proprietary hardware appliances are decoupled and run as software instances. However, the security of NFV still needs to be addressed prior to deployment in the real world. In particular, virtual network function (VNF) distribution across data centers is a risk for network operators, as an eavesdropper could compromise not just virtualized services, but the whole infrastructure. We demonstrate, for the first time, a secure architectural solution for VNF distribution, combining NFV orchestration and QKD technology by scheduling an optical network using SDN. A time-shared approach is designed and presented as a cost-effective solution for practical deployment, showing the performance of different quantum links in a distributed environment
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