Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

Complete System Integration of Chip-Based Quantum Key Distribution Devices

Taofiq K. Paraïso, Thomas Roger, Davide G. Marangon, Innocenzo De Marco, Mirko Sanzaro, Robert I. Woodward, J. F. Dynes, Zhiliang L. Yuan, Andrew J. Shields

Published Jan 1, 2021• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Solutions for a practical, wide-scale deployment of quantum secure communication devices have long been awaited for. Recent reports of quantum key distribution (QKD) chips, yet promising, were restricted to proof-of-concepts of individual components. We now demonstrate a complete QKD system, entirely based on photonic chips and distributing quantum secure encryption keys at high bit rate. This establishes photonic integration as a viable solution for a low-cost, scalable deployment of QKD.

DOI
10.1364/cleo_at.2021.atu1s.4

Related papers

Engineering quantum secure communication systems with photonic integrated circuits

Taofiq K. Paraïso, Thomas Roger, Davide G. Marangon +6 more

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.

Quantum Technology: Driving Commercialisation of an Enabling Science•Jan 11, 2023•0 citations

Chip-Based Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution Using Integrated Silicon Photonic Systems

Lushuai Cao, Wei Luo, Y. X. Wang +20 more

Photonic chip integration would greatly benefit quantum key distribution (QKD) systems for secure communication, in terms of compactness, scalability, and well-established fabrication techniques. This study demonstrates proof of concept for an all-chip measurement-device-independent QKD system using integrated silicon photonic technology. The prototype generates a key rate per pulse of $2.923\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ over a distance corresponding to 50 km of standard fiber with 25% detection efficiency; the system is projected to be able to work at 120 km with 85% detection efficiency. This technology shows great promise for highly integrated quantum communication networks.

Physical Review Applied•Jul 17, 2020•64 citations

Highly integrated quantum key distribution transmitter enabled by silicon photonics

Rende Liu, Yan-Lin Tang, Cheng-Guang Dong +7 more

Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides information-theoretic security independent of computational assumptions, yet the bulk and cost of current systems hinder large-scale deployment. Although integrated photonic technologies have enabled highly integrated QKD chips, practical QKD transmitters are still predominantly implemented as rack-mounted systems. Here, we demonstrate a highly integrated standalone QKD transmitter that integrates all essential functionalities required for practical QKD operation within a compact platform built around a silicon photonic encoding chip. The transmitter occupies only $167 \times 56 \times 21~\mathrm{mm}^3$ ($\sim 0.2~\mathrm{dm}^3$), comparable in size to a half-height, half-width PCIe card and more than 30 times smaller in volume than a conventional 1U rack-mounted system. Paired with a conventional discrete-component receiver, it achieves a secure key rate of 219.1 kbps over 51.3 km of standard single-mode fiber, with performance comparable to that of conventional discrete-component implementations. This work bridges the gap between photonic chip integration and deployable QKD hardware, marking an important step toward transitioning QKD transmitters from conventional rack-mounted equipment to compact board-level platforms.

quant-pharXiv:2607.23413•Journal of Lightwave Technology•Jul 28, 2026•0 citations

Chip-based quantum key distribution

Philip Sibson, Chris Erven, Mark Godfrey +10 more

Improvement in secure transmission of information is an urgent need for governments, corporations and individuals. Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises security based on the laws of physics and has rapidly grown from proof-of-concept to robust demonstrations and deployment of commercial systems. Despite these advances, QKD has not been widely adopted, and large-scale deployment will likely require chip-based devices for improved performance, miniaturization and enhanced functionality. Here we report low error rate, GHz clocked QKD operation of an indium phosphide transmitter chip and a silicon oxynitride receiver chip-monolithically integrated devices using components and manufacturing processes from the telecommunications industry. We use the reconfigurability of these devices to demonstrate three prominent QKD protocols-BB84, Coherent One Way and Differential Phase Shift-with performance comparable to state-of-the-art. These devices, when combined with integrated single photon detectors, pave the way for successfully integrating QKD into future telecommunications networks.

arXiv:1509.00768•Nature Communications•Feb 9, 2017•40 citations

High Bit-Rate Quantum Communication Chips

Taofiq K. Paraïso, Innocenzo De Marco, Thomas Roger +5 more

There is growing incentive to integrate quantum communication technologies into our high-bandwidth communication networks. However, for a realistic and practical large-scale deployment, drastic reductions of the size, cost and power consumption of current quantum cryptographic systems are necessary. We show how this goal can be achieved using photonic integration. We demonstrate quantum communication chips capable of record performances including quantum key distribution at 250kb/s over a 20dB-loss channel and quantum random number generation at 8Gb/s. The scalability and affordability of these new devices will allow the deployment of quantum cryptography in high connectivity networks.

Optical Fiber Communication Conference•Jan 1, 2019•0 citations

Advances in Chip-Based Quantum Key Distribution

Qiang Liu, Yinming Huang, Yongqiang Du +4 more

Quantum key distribution (QKD), guaranteed by the principles of quantum mechanics, is one of the most promising solutions for the future of secure communication. Integrated quantum photonics provides a stable, compact, and robust platform for the implementation of complex photonic circuits amenable to mass manufacture, and also allows for the generation, detection, and processing of quantum states of light at a growing system's scale, functionality, and complexity. Integrated quantum photonics provides a compelling technology for the integration of QKD systems. In this review, we summarize the advances in integrated QKD systems, including integrated photon sources, detectors, and encoding and decoding components for QKD implements. Complete demonstrations of various QKD schemes based on integrated photonic chips are also discussed.

Entropy•Sep 22, 2022•51 citations
Solutions for a practical, wide-scale deployment of quantum secure communication devices have long been awaited for. Recent reports of quantum key distribution (QKD) chips, yet promising, were restricted to proof-of-concepts of individual components. We now demonstrate a complete QKD system, entirely based on photonic chips and distributing quantum secure encryption keys at high bit rate. This establishes photonic integration as a viable solution for a low-cost, scalable deployment of QKD.
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.
Photonic chip integration would greatly benefit quantum key distribution (QKD) systems for secure communication, in terms of compactness, scalability, and well-established fabrication techniques. This study demonstrates proof of concept for an all-chip measurement-device-independent QKD system using integrated silicon photonic technology. The prototype generates a key rate per pulse of $2.923\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ over a distance corresponding to 50 km of standard fiber with 25% detection efficiency; the system is projected to be able to work at 120 km with 85% detection efficiency. This technology shows great promise for highly integrated quantum communication networks.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides information-theoretic security independent of computational assumptions, yet the bulk and cost of current systems hinder large-scale deployment. Although integrated photonic technologies have enabled highly integrated QKD chips, practical QKD transmitters are still predominantly implemented as rack-mounted systems. Here, we demonstrate a highly integrated standalone QKD transmitter that integrates all essential functionalities required for practical QKD operation within a compact platform built around a silicon photonic encoding chip. The transmitter occupies only 167×56×21 mm3167 \times 56 \times 21~\mathrm{mm}^3167×56×21 mm3 (∼0.2 dm3\sim 0.2~\mathrm{dm}^3∼0.2 dm3), comparable in size to a half-height, half-width PCIe card and more than 30 times smaller in volume than a conventional 1U rack-mounted system. Paired with a conventional discrete-component receiver, it achieves a secure key rate of 219.1 kbps over 51.3 km of standard single-mode fiber, with performance comparable to that of conventional discrete-component implementations. This work bridges the gap between photonic chip integration and deployable QKD hardware, marking an important step toward transitioning QKD transmitters from conventional rack-mounted equipment to compact board-level platforms.
Improvement in secure transmission of information is an urgent need for governments, corporations and individuals. Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises security based on the laws of physics and has rapidly grown from proof-of-concept to robust demonstrations and deployment of commercial systems. Despite these advances, QKD has not been widely adopted, and large-scale deployment will likely require chip-based devices for improved performance, miniaturization and enhanced functionality. Here we report low error rate, GHz clocked QKD operation of an indium phosphide transmitter chip and a silicon oxynitride receiver chip-monolithically integrated devices using components and manufacturing processes from the telecommunications industry. We use the reconfigurability of these devices to demonstrate three prominent QKD protocols-BB84, Coherent One Way and Differential Phase Shift-with performance comparable to state-of-the-art. These devices, when combined with integrated single photon detectors, pave the way for successfully integrating QKD into future telecommunications networks.
There is growing incentive to integrate quantum communication technologies into our high-bandwidth communication networks. However, for a realistic and practical large-scale deployment, drastic reductions of the size, cost and power consumption of current quantum cryptographic systems are necessary. We show how this goal can be achieved using photonic integration. We demonstrate quantum communication chips capable of record performances including quantum key distribution at 250kb/s over a 20dB-loss channel and quantum random number generation at 8Gb/s. The scalability and affordability of these new devices will allow the deployment of quantum cryptography in high connectivity networks.
Quantum key distribution (QKD), guaranteed by the principles of quantum mechanics, is one of the most promising solutions for the future of secure communication. Integrated quantum photonics provides a stable, compact, and robust platform for the implementation of complex photonic circuits amenable to mass manufacture, and also allows for the generation, detection, and processing of quantum states of light at a growing system's scale, functionality, and complexity. Integrated quantum photonics provides a compelling technology for the integration of QKD systems. In this review, we summarize the advances in integrated QKD systems, including integrated photon sources, detectors, and encoding and decoding components for QKD implements. Complete demonstrations of various QKD schemes based on integrated photonic chips are also discussed.