Monolithic Silicon Quantum Communication Circuitry

Introduction

The advent of quantum computing and its unprecedented computational power has called the sustainability of today’s widely established encryption methods into question. Even though quantum physics addresses this emerging threat by offering quantum key distribution (QKD), the complexity inherent to QKD systems constitutes a roadblock for their practical introduction, especially when addressing telecommunication segments that are subject to commodity-like applications.

Project Overview

MOSQITO is an ERC Proof-of-Concept study that aims to prove the applicability of a novel monolithic silicon integration approach. This approach is touted as a trailblazer to greatly simplify quantum communication circuits while further providing a graceful migration path towards a seamless integration of microelectronics.

Technical Foundation

We will build on a recently demonstrated silicon optical power supply, which enables light emission through a quasi-direct silicon bandgap structure. This innovation alleviates silicon photonic integrated circuits (PIC) from the burden of complex hetero-integration of III-V materials.

Objectives

MOSQITO will conduct the following activities:

1. The world’s first demonstration of a PIC-based QKD transmitter for BB84 polarization-encoded key exchange, where every element has been realized exclusively on a silicon basis.

2. An evaluation of this greatly simplified QKD hardware for commodity applications such as:

   • 6G
   • Residential access
   • The Industrial Internet
   • Massively-parallel data interconnects

   These segments are where traditional QKD implementations cannot enter the market due to cost and size concerns.

3. Strategic clustering activities with silicon platform partners to lay inroads for refining the silicon light emitter with respect to further performance scaling and manufacturing readiness level.