Reconfigurable, Reliable, and Secure Quantum Communication Networks

目前的信息时代与互联网技术密切相关，预计未来几年流量将呈指数级增长。虽然有许多关于如何应对即将到来的带宽容量紧缩的建议，但光网络的安全性似乎几乎完全被忽视。通过对密集波分复用信号的一部分进行分线，大量数据可能会受到损害。因此，未来网络基础设施的安全性正成为一个重要的问题，需要尽早解决。在这个项目中，亚利桑那大学（UA）团队将连贯地利用密码学，量子信息理论和纳米光子学的概念来开发下一代量子安全通信网络。该项目将为美国乃至全球未来信息基础设施提供最终安全的重大努力做出重大贡献。与此同时，所提出的高速、安全、可靠的量子网络方法将成为量子网络、密码学、量子信息理论、量子纳米光子学、编码理论和光纤技术等跨学科研究的框架。该项目将通过制定一个新的框架来推进量子信息科学和技术，以实现高速率，鲁棒性和可扩展的地面量子通信网络（QCN），该网络使用新型混合连续变量（CV）-离散变量（DV）协议来实现多路访问量子密钥分配（QKD）。为了延长节点之间的传输距离，该项目将追求后量子密码学/基于隐蔽通道的纠错，限制窃听和混合测量设备无关（MDI）-QKD概念。所提出的QCN将对信道损伤具有高度鲁棒性，包括光纤链路中的色散效应和自由空间光链路中的大气湍流。通过同时解决DV和CV-QKD方案中存在的问题并向QCN迈进，UA团队将开发一个创新的概念和框架，以实现美国未来网络基础设施的最终安全性。 该项目的重点是：1）开发新型的混合CV-DV QKD协议，其具有在10 Gb/s量级上的极高的密钥速率（SKRs）; 2）制造高速集成收发器以支持所提出的混合CV-DV QKD方案; 3）为混合CV-DV QKD开发基于后量子密码学/隐蔽信道的纠错，限制窃听概念，以及混合MDI-QKD，以显著扩展可实现的传输距离并增加SKR;以及4）基于这些新颖的QKD概念设计量子网络架构，并在UA的新地面原型中实验性地演示所提出的QCN概念。拟议中的QCN将真正受到量子物理学基本原理的保护，其密钥速率与经典通信网络的数据速率相当。此外，拟议的QCN将为具有重大社会和社会影响和效益的技术提供前所未有的安全水平，如6 G无线网络，物联网（IoT）和自动驾驶汽车。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The current information era closely relates to the Internet technology with traffic projected to grow exponentially in years to come. Although there are many proposals on how to deal with the upcoming bandwidth capacity crunch, the security of optical networks seems to be almost completely neglected. By taping out the portion of a dense wavelength division multiplexing signal, huge amounts of data can be compromised. Therefore, the security of the future network infrastructure is becoming one of the major issues—to be addressed sooner, rather than later. In this project, the University of Arizona (UA) team will coherently utilize the concepts of cryptography, quantum information theory, and nanophotonics to develop the next generation of quantum-enabled secure communication networks. The proposed project will significantly contribute to the major effort of providing ultimate security for future information infrastructure in the US as well as globally. At the same time, the proposed high-speed, secure, reliable quantum networking approaches will be a framework for cross-disciplinary research in quantum networks, cryptography, quantum information theory, quantum nanophotonics, coding theory, and fiber-optics technologies. This project will advance the quantum information science and technology by formulating a new framework to enable high-rate, robust, and scalable terrestrial quantum communication networks (QCNs) that use novel hybrid continuous variable (CV)-discrete variable (DV) protocols to achieve multiaccess quantum key distribution (QKD). To extend the transmission distance between nodes, the project will pursue postquantum cryptography/covert channel-based error correction, restricted eavesdropping, and hybrid measurement-device-independent (MDI)-QKD concepts. The proposed QCNs will be highly robust against channel impairments, including dispersion effects in fiber links and atmospheric turbulence in free-space optical links. By simultaneously solving the existing problems in both DV- and CV-QKD schemes and advancing towards QCNs, the UA team will develop an innovative concept and framework to attain the ultimate security for future network infrastructure in the US. The project focus is to: 1) develop novel hybrid CV-DV QKD protocols with extremely high secret key rates (SKRs) on the order of 10s of Gb/s; 2) fabricate high-speed integrated transceivers to support the proposed hybrid CV-DV QKD schemes; 3) develop postquantum cryptography/covert channel-based error correction for the hybrid CV-DV QKD, the restricted-eavesdropping concept, and hybrid MDI-QKD to significantly extend achievable transmission distances and increase the SKR; and 4) design quantum networking architectures based on these novel QKD concepts and experimentally demonstrate the proposed QCN concepts in a new terrestrial prototype at UA. The proposed QCNs will be genuinely secured by the fundamental principles of quantum physics, with secret key rates comparable to the classical-communication network data rates. Moreover, the proposed QCNs will provide an unprecedented security level for technologies with major societal and social impacts and benefits, suchas 6G wireless networks, the Internet-of-Things (IoT), and autonomous vehicles.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.