UK Quantum Technology Hub for Quantum Communications Technologies

量子技术是一种新的颠覆性技术，具有超越熟悉信息技术的潜力，例如在通信、传感、测量和计算领域。我们每天都在使用这些东西，随着我们的生活变得越来越“高科技”，我们对它的依赖也越来越多。量子技术利用了量子物理奇怪和违反直觉的特征，在技术上可以为通信和数据提供更大的安全性。或者是在可以更好地测量和感知事物的技术上。或者在可以在计算领域开辟新的更强大方向的技术方面。英国在量子技术研究方面有着卓越的记录--得到全世界的认可。现在是时候让这项研究向新量子技术的开发、演示和商业化迈进了。英国政府已经认识到了这一事实，并为实现这一目标向科学和技术预算注入了2.7亿GB。这2.7亿GB中的一大部分将用于量子技术中心的国家网络，其工作将是为英国提供新的量子技术。我们建议为这一努力做出贡献的是一个新的量子通信技术中心。数据和通信安全在当今社会是绝对必要的--对于个人、机构、企业、政府和国家而言。当前的安全通信系统存在漏洞，一些漏洞今天暴露出来，另一些可能在未来随着计算能力和黑客技术的提高而暴露出来。基于量子物理的安全通信可以消除其中的一些漏洞，提供以自然定律为基础的安全系统。实现安全通信的量子物理的基本特征是：(I)在量子系统中编码的信息不可复制；(Ii)在量子系统中编码的信息在有人读取时会不可逆转地改变。人们可以直观地看到，这些事实将确保量子通信的窃听者总是被抓住。这可以用在量子通信系统中来保证安全性。经典的例子是，爱丽丝和鲍勃可以共享一个安全的秘密密钥，但量子承诺伊芙对此一无所知。然后，他们可以使用该密钥来保护未来的一系列通信和交易。然而，他们确实必须使用密钥来维护安全，因此需要定期通过量子手段补充安全密钥(量子密钥分发，或QKD)。量子通信系统的演示已经存在多年，但由于其能力的限制，这些技术无法大规模商业化。我们中心的宏伟愿景是开发新的量子通信技术，以克服这些限制，实现从政府和商业到消费者和家庭的广泛使用和采用。我们的目标是为手机等移动设备开发短距离、低成本的QKD。我们的目标是开发芯片级的QKD模块，以便于制造和广泛而通用的部署。我们的目标是演示网络上的量子密钥分发及其与传统通信的集成。我们还致力于探索量子通信的新方向，超越简单的QKD，例如用于签署电子消息或文件的量子版本的数字签名。英国在一系列新的高科技量子技术方面具有巨大的潜力成为世界领先者。此外，量子通信部门对国家具有特别重要的意义。由于所有安全和加密技术都是敏感的，并受到进出口管制，因此，英国在一个新的量子通信领域建立“主权能力”至关重要。我们已经在我们的中心聚集了一支杰出的科学家和工程师团队来追求这一目标。

Quantum technologies are new, disruptive technologies that have the potential to outperform familiar information technologies, for example in the areas of communications, sensing, measurement and computing. We all use all this stuff every day, relying on it increasingly as our lives become more and more "high-tech". Quantum technologies employ the weird and counter-intuitive features of quantum physics, in technologies that can offer greater security for communications and data. Or in technologies that can measure and sense things better. Or in technologies that can open up new and more powerful directions in computing.The UK has an outstanding track record - recognised worldwide - in quantum technology research. The time is now here for this research to progress to development, demonstration and the commercialisation of new quantum technologies. The UK Government has recognised this fact and has injected £270M into the Science and Technology budget to achieve it. A major part of this £270M is to be spent on a national network of Quantum Technology Hubs, whose job it will be to deliver new quantum technologies for the UK.Our proposed contribution to this endeavour is a Hub for new Quantum Communications Technologies. Data and communications security are absolutely essential throughout society today - for individuals, institutions, businesses, governments and nations. Current secure communications systems have vulnerabilities, some exposed today and others that may be exposed in the future as computing power and hacking techniques improve. Secure communications based on quantum physics can eliminate some of these vulnerabilities, providing systems whose security is underpinned by the laws of Nature. The basic features of quantum physics that enable secure communications are: (i) information encoded in a quantum system cannot be copied; (ii) information encoded in a quantum system is irreversibly changed when somebody reads it. Intuitively, one can see that these facts will ensure that eavesdroppers on quantum communications always get caught. This can be utilised in quantum communications systems to give a guarantee of security. The "classic" example is that Alice and Bob can share a secure, secret key, with a quantum promise that Eve knows nothing about it. They can then use this key to protect a range of communications and transactions in the future. However, they do have to consume the key to maintain security, so there is a need for topping up of secure key (quantum key distribution, or QKD) on a regular basis through quantum means.Demonstrations of quantum communications systems have existed for a number of years now, but with limitations on their capabilities that have prevented large scale commercialisation of these technologies. The grand vision of our Hub is to develop new quantum communications technologies that will overcome these limitations, enabling widespread use and adoption - from government and commerce through to consumers and the home. We aim to develop short-range, low cost QKD for mobile devices such as 'phones. We aim to develop chip-scale QKD modules, for ease of manufacture and widespread and versatile deployment. We aim to demonstrate QKD over networks and its integration with conventional communications. We also aim to investigate new directions in quantum communications, going beyond simple QKD, for example to quantum versions of digital signatures for signing electronic messages or documents.There is great potential for the UK to become a world-leader across a range of new, high-tech, quantum technologies. Furthermore, the quantum communications sector is of particular national importance. As all security and cryptography technologies are sensitive and subject to import/export controls, it is therefore vital for the UK to establish "sovereign capability" in a new quantum communications sector. We have assembled an outstanding team of scientists and engineers in our Hub to pursue this goal.