SBIR Phase I: Quantum Key Distribution via Small Satellite

SBIR 第一阶段：通过小型卫星分发量子密钥

• 批准号: 1842769
• 负责人: Maxwell Shapiro
• 金额: $ 22.49万
• 依托单位: SKY QUANTUM INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-02-01 至 2020-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1842769&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Quantum; Key; Distribution

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a practical method for ultra-secure global communication using quantum key distribution (QKD). QKD is an established communications protocol which promises unbreakable encryption via the exchange of single photons, the constituent particles of light. Owing in large part to the lack of a practical way to connect users globally, QKD has not yet been widely deployed. This project aims to demonstrate the viability of high-speed, satellite-to-ground QKD using the low-cost CubeSat platform. If successful, this design will dramatically reduce the initial costs to launch a QKD constellation offering worldwide QKD connectivity, thereby greatly expanding the utility of QKD and driving market growth. Early customers will be the US Government and large businesses who are willing to pay a premium for the ultimate in data security. Government use offers clear societal benefit, as several agencies rely on secure global communications to ensure societal well-being. As technology advances, the network may be used to secure the communications of private citizens. The proposed plan will furthermore develop enabling technologies for future space-based quantum science experiments.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will produce designs for a high-speed QKD payload hosted on a CubeSat. The proposed design will take a substantial step forward from the first and only demonstration of satellite-to-ground QKD (Micius, 2017), which relied on technology that is too massive, expensive, and low-throughput for commercial use. Since CubeSats are heavily constrained in size, weight, and power, the major technical challenge will be to miniaturize the payload and reduce its power consumption while simultaneously improving data rates. To address this challenge, the small business will investigate a novel QKD payload concept that pushes the limits of emerging technologies in photonics and microelectromechanical systems. In Phase I, detailed modeling and simulation of candidate payload designs will be used to evaluate the commercial and technical feasibility of the proposed approach, and to select a preliminary design for initial implementation, which will commence in Phase II.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该小型企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种使用量子密钥分发 (QKD) 进行超安全全球通信的实用方法。 QKD 是一种既定的通信协议，它通过交换单光子（光的组成粒子）来保证牢不可破的加密。很大程度上由于缺乏连接全球用户的实用方法，QKD 尚未得到广泛部署。该项目旨在展示使用低成本 CubeSat 平台进行高速星对地 QKD 的可行性。如果成功，该设计将大大降低推出提供全球 QKD 连接的 QKD 星座的初始成本，从而大大扩展 QKD 的实用性并推动市场增长。早期客户将是愿意为最终数据安全支付溢价的美国政府和大型企业。政府使用可以带来明显的社会效益，因为一些机构依靠安全的全球通信来确保社会福祉。随着技术的进步，网络可用于保护私人公民的通信安全。拟议的计划还将进一步开发未来天基量子科学实验的支持技术。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将为立方体卫星上托管的高速 QKD 有效载荷进行设计。拟议的设计将比第一个也是唯一一个星对地 QKD 演示（Micius，2017）向前迈出实质性一步，该演示所依赖的技术对于商业用途来说过于庞大、昂贵且低吞吐量。由于立方体卫星在尺寸、重量和功率方面受到严重限制，因此主要的技术挑战将是小型化有效载荷并降低其功耗，同时提高数据速率。为了应对这一挑战，小型企业将研究一种新颖的 QKD 有效负载概念，该概念突破了光子学和微机电系统新兴技术的极限。在第一阶段，候选有效载荷设计的详细建模和模拟将用于评估所提议方法的商业和技术可行性，并选择初步实施的初步设计，该初步实施将在第二阶段开始。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。