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

Journal of Optics

Integrated silicon photonics chip fabricated by CMOS compatible technology for low-bit-error-rate quantum key distribution

Zhen Zhen, Siyue Jin, Jie Ren, Xingsheng Xu

Published Sep 21, 2023• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Quantum communication has extremely high security and is a development direction of future communication networks. In this paper, an on-chip path, off-chip polarization encoded quantum key distribution (QKD) chip is designed and fabricated using advanced silicon photonics fabrication technology. Using a special two-dimensional grating, we can convert light of different path states into corresponding polarization states and propagate in fiber. The performance of the basic optics, waveguides, gratings, and Mach–Zehnder interferometers on the chip is characterized. In the demonstrated QKD experiment, the quantum bit error rate is as low as 1.08%. It provides an important device for the future development of advanced integrated quantum information.

DOI
10.1088/2040-8986/acfbe9

Related papers

Low Bit Error Rate Quantum Key Distribution Based on Integrated Silicon Photonics

Zhen Zhen, Siyue Jin, Jie Ren +1 more

Abstract Quantum communication has extremely high security and is the development direction of future communication networks. In this paper, an on-chip path, off-chip polarization encoded quantum key distribution chip is designed and fabricated using advanced silicon photonics fabrication technology. Using a special two-dimensional grating, we can convert light of different path states into corresponding polarization states and propagate in free space. The performance of the basic optics, waveguides, gratings, and Mach-Zehnder interferometers on the chip is tested. In the demonstrated quantum key distribution experiment, the quantum bit error rate is as low as 1.08%. It lays the foundation for the future development of advanced integrated quantum information.

•Jul 21, 2022•1 citation

Silicon Integrated Transmitter for Quantum Key Distribution

Chaoxuan Ma

Silicon (Si) photonics is reaching maturity and has the potential of offering low-cost, reliable, chip-scale systems for quantum key distribution (QKD). On the other hand, QKD is also maturing with the bridging of theory and practice. This work presents a Si integrated photonic transmitter for polarization-encoded QKD. The chip was fabricated in a standard Si photonic foundry process and integrates a pulse generator, intensity modulator, variable optical attenuator, and polarization modulator in a 1.3 mm x 3 mm die area. The devices in the photonic circuit meet the requirements for QKD. The transmitter was used in a proof-of-concept demonstration of the BB84 QKD protocol over a 5 km long fiber link. A quantum bit error rate of 5.4% and an asymptotic secure key rate of 0.95 kbps is obtained. This work shows the feasibility of foundry based Si photonics for quantum information applications.

•Nov 1, 2016•0 citations

A Silicon Photonic Chip-based System for 2.5-GHz Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)

Wei Luo, Lushuai Cao, Hong Nian Cai +3 more

We have demonstrated a compact, chip-based system for high-speed polarization-encoded QKD, which utilizes advanced silicon photonics technology and operates at a clock rate of 2.5 GHz. Our design enables secure key rates up to 1.018 Mbps at equivalent fiber distance of 100 km in the finite-size regime. The results of the proof-of-principle experiment indicate that this high-speed, chip-based QKD system is a viable, high-performance solution well-suited for upcoming quantum communication applications.

Optical Fiber Communication Conference•Jan 1, 2024•4 citations

Integrated photonic chip for quantum key distribution

Gong Zhang

Silicon photonic technologies exploit silicon as an optical material to build a wide array of devices and systems. The flexibility, modularity, and stability of silicon photonic systems provide unprecedented opportunities for next-generation quantum key distribution (QKD) and quantum networking. This doctoral thesis focuses on the design, simulation, fabrication, and experiment of QKD chips based on silicon photonics. Crucial components for QKD chips are designed and fabricated, including the grating coupler, polarization beam splitter, polarization rotator, modulator, photodetector, ring resonator, and interferometer. Using these components, chip-based continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) is demonstrated for the first time. The chip-based CV-QKD system is capable of producing a secret key rate of 9.3 kbits/s (under collective attack) at a distance of 100 km in fiber. The successful demonstration of a single chip-based QKD offers new possibilities for low-cost, scalable and portable quantum networks.

•Jan 1, 2019•0 citations

Silicon-based decoder for polarization-encoding quantum key distribution

Yongqiang Du, Xun Zhu, Xin Hua +5 more

Silicon-based polarization-encoding quantum key distribution (QKD) has been widely studied, owing to its low cost and robustness. However, prior studies have utilized off-chip devices to demodulate the quantum states or perform polarization compensation, given the difficulty of fabricating polarized independent components on the chip. In this paper, we propose a fully chip-based decoder for polarization-encoding QKD. The chip realizes a polarization state analyzer and compensates for the BB84 protocol without requiring additional hardware. It is based on a polarization-to-path conversion method that uses a polarization splitter-rotator. The chip was fabricated using a standard silicon photonics foundry; it has a compact design and is suitable for mass production. In the experimental stability test, an average quantum bit error rate of $0.56\%$ was achieved through continuous operation for 10 h without any polarization feedback. Furthermore, using the developed feedback algorithm, the chip enabled the automatic compensation of the fiber polarization drift, which was emulated by a random fiber polarization scrambler. In the case of the QKD demonstration, we obtained a finite-key secret rate of 240 bps over a fiber spool of 100 km. This study represents an important step toward the integrated, practical, and large-scale deployment of QKD systems.

arXiv:2212.04019•Chip•Feb 15, 2023•57 citations

Polarization-Based Quantum Key Distribution Encoder and Decoder on Silicon Photonics

Gaolu Zhang, Zhizun Zhao, Jincheng Dai +3 more

Private and secure communication is an indispensable part of the government and individual activities. With the ever-evolving large-scale of quantum computing, traditional public-key cryptography is severely threatened since its security only relies on the computational complexity of certain mathematical functions. Quantum key distribution (QKD), ascribed to its security based on the inviolability of physics laws, provides an absolutely information-secure solution for the future extensive communication encrypting. Herein this Letter, we proposed a simplified and reconfigurable silicon photonics encoder using a pass-block architecture and experimentally demonstrated its performance with a specialized silicon photonics decoder for high-speed quantum key distribution in polarization-based decoy-state BB84 protocol. We achieved an estimated asymptotic secret key rate of 868 kbps with measured quantum bit error rate (QBER) of 0.90% (Z base) and 1.34% (X base) over 20 km emulated fiber link. This work further advances the process of applying QKD using silicon photonics devices into the future secure telecommunication network.

Journal of Lightwave Technology•Nov 30, 2021•29 citations
Abstract Quantum communication has extremely high security and is a development direction of future communication networks. In this paper, an on-chip path, off-chip polarization encoded quantum key distribution (QKD) chip is designed and fabricated using advanced silicon photonics fabrication technology. Using a special two-dimensional grating, we can convert light of different path states into corresponding polarization states and propagate in fiber. The performance of the basic optics, waveguides, gratings, and Mach–Zehnder interferometers on the chip is characterized. In the demonstrated QKD experiment, the quantum bit error rate is as low as 1.08%. It provides an important device for the future development of advanced integrated quantum information.
Abstract Quantum communication has extremely high security and is the development direction of future communication networks. In this paper, an on-chip path, off-chip polarization encoded quantum key distribution chip is designed and fabricated using advanced silicon photonics fabrication technology. Using a special two-dimensional grating, we can convert light of different path states into corresponding polarization states and propagate in free space. The performance of the basic optics, waveguides, gratings, and Mach-Zehnder interferometers on the chip is tested. In the demonstrated quantum key distribution experiment, the quantum bit error rate is as low as 1.08%. It lays the foundation for the future development of advanced integrated quantum information.
Silicon (Si) photonics is reaching maturity and has the potential of offering low-cost, reliable, chip-scale systems for quantum key distribution (QKD). On the other hand, QKD is also maturing with the bridging of theory and practice. This work presents a Si integrated photonic transmitter for polarization-encoded QKD. The chip was fabricated in a standard Si photonic foundry process and integrates a pulse generator, intensity modulator, variable optical attenuator, and polarization modulator in a 1.3 mm x 3 mm die area. The devices in the photonic circuit meet the requirements for QKD. The transmitter was used in a proof-of-concept demonstration of the BB84 QKD protocol over a 5 km long fiber link. A quantum bit error rate of 5.4% and an asymptotic secure key rate of 0.95 kbps is obtained. This work shows the feasibility of foundry based Si photonics for quantum information applications.
We have demonstrated a compact, chip-based system for high-speed polarization-encoded QKD, which utilizes advanced silicon photonics technology and operates at a clock rate of 2.5 GHz. Our design enables secure key rates up to 1.018 Mbps at equivalent fiber distance of 100 km in the finite-size regime. The results of the proof-of-principle experiment indicate that this high-speed, chip-based QKD system is a viable, high-performance solution well-suited for upcoming quantum communication applications.
Silicon photonic technologies exploit silicon as an optical material to build a wide array of devices and systems. The flexibility, modularity, and stability of silicon photonic systems provide unprecedented opportunities for next-generation quantum key distribution (QKD) and quantum networking. This doctoral thesis focuses on the design, simulation, fabrication, and experiment of QKD chips based on silicon photonics. Crucial components for QKD chips are designed and fabricated, including the grating coupler, polarization beam splitter, polarization rotator, modulator, photodetector, ring resonator, and interferometer. Using these components, chip-based continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) is demonstrated for the first time. The chip-based CV-QKD system is capable of producing a secret key rate of 9.3 kbits/s (under collective attack) at a distance of 100 km in fiber. The successful demonstration of a single chip-based QKD offers new possibilities for low-cost, scalable and portable quantum networks.
Silicon-based polarization-encoding quantum key distribution (QKD) has been widely studied, owing to its low cost and robustness. However, prior studies have utilized off-chip devices to demodulate the quantum states or perform polarization compensation, given the difficulty of fabricating polarized independent components on the chip. In this paper, we propose a fully chip-based decoder for polarization-encoding QKD. The chip realizes a polarization state analyzer and compensates for the BB84 protocol without requiring additional hardware. It is based on a polarization-to-path conversion method that uses a polarization splitter-rotator. The chip was fabricated using a standard silicon photonics foundry; it has a compact design and is suitable for mass production. In the experimental stability test, an average quantum bit error rate of 0.56%0.56\%0.56% was achieved through continuous operation for 10 h without any polarization feedback. Furthermore, using the developed feedback algorithm, the chip enabled the automatic compensation of the fiber polarization drift, which was emulated by a random fiber polarization scrambler. In the case of the QKD demonstration, we obtained a finite-key secret rate of 240 bps over a fiber spool of 100 km. This study represents an important step toward the integrated, practical, and large-scale deployment of QKD systems.
Private and secure communication is an indispensable part of the government and individual activities. With the ever-evolving large-scale of quantum computing, traditional public-key cryptography is severely threatened since its security only relies on the computational complexity of certain mathematical functions. Quantum key distribution (QKD), ascribed to its security based on the inviolability of physics laws, provides an absolutely information-secure solution for the future extensive communication encrypting. Herein this Letter, we proposed a simplified and reconfigurable silicon photonics encoder using a pass-block architecture and experimentally demonstrated its performance with a specialized silicon photonics decoder for high-speed quantum key distribution in polarization-based decoy-state BB84 protocol. We achieved an estimated asymptotic secret key rate of 868 kbps with measured quantum bit error rate (QBER) of 0.90% (Z base) and 1.34% (X base) over 20 km emulated fiber link. This work further advances the process of applying QKD using silicon photonics devices into the future secure telecommunication network.