An Integrated Quantum Key Distribution Transceiver using Silicon Photonic Circuits

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This project brings together a team of six research groups from three universities in Canada who will work closely with the R&D personnel in one software company and one nanofabrication company to produce a fully-integrated optical chip set that will send and receive quantum mechanically-encoded encryption keys over fibre optic cables. The transmitter chip will incorporate an impurity centre in silicon (expertise at Simon Fraser University) as a single photon emitter that will be coupled into silicon photonic circuits (expertise of the applicant at the University of British Columbia) via optical microcavities (expertise at the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary) etched into silicon wafers. The receiver chip will incorporate matching silicon circuitry and a fully integrated single photon detector that the University of British Columbia is in the process of patenting. A ubiquitous quantum network will require many technological advances in; quantum communication theory and design, realizing a quantum repeater, and dramatically increasing the throughput of individual quantum channels, and their multiplexing. The integration of high-performance quantum light sources and detectors with photonic circuits in a manufacturable semiconductor platform would represent a major milestone on this journey. Many material platforms for achieving this integration are being pursued by researchers around the world, but most agree that silicon would be the best host material, if all of the relevant component functionalities can be demonstrated. The co-applicants have a history of very successful collaboration with both the sponsor organizations. The software company will use the project to enhance its current offerings by direct experimental validation, and to develop a completely new line of quantum optical simulation tools. The nanofabrication company will benefit by co-developing process recipes for quantum-optical silicon photonic circuits, which will push the limits of precision beyond those currently demanded by most classical silicon photonics customers.