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IET conference proceedings.

A beam steering platform enabling handheld low-cost quantum key distribution

Andy Schreier, J. Sagar, Douglas H. Lowndes, Hyunchae Chun, Siddarth Koduru Joshi, Grahame E. Faulkner, John Rarity, Dominic C. O'Brien

Published Nov 13, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper we present the integration of a low-cost QKD system into a low-loss, asymmetrical beam steering platform including a polarisation calibration unit. Initial results are presented demonstrating a secret key rate of 400 bit/s for the overall system.
DOI
10.1049/icp.2023.2220

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Quantum key distribution (QKD) is nowadays a well-established method for generating secret keys at a distance in an information-theoretically secure way, as the secrecy of QKD relies on the laws of quantum physics and not on computational complexity. In order to industrialize QKD, low-cost, mass-manufactured, and practical QKD setups are required. Hence, photonic and electronic integration of the sender’s and receiver’s respective components is currently in the spotlight. Here we present a high-speed (2.5 GHz) integrated QKD setup featuring a transmitter chip in silicon photonics allowing for high-speed modulation and accurate state preparation, as well as a polarization-independent low-loss receiver chip in aluminum borosilicate glass fabricated by the femtosecond laser micromachining technique. Our system achieves raw bit error rates, quantum bit error rates, and secret key rates equivalent to a much more complex state-of-the-art setup based on discrete components [ Boaron A. et al. , Phys. Rev. Lett. 121 , 190502 ( 2018 ) ].