UK Quantum Technology Hub for Quantum Communications Technologies

量子技术是新的、颠覆性的技术，有可能超越人们熟悉的信息技术，例如在通信、传感、测量和计算领域。我们每天都在使用所有这些东西，随着我们的生活变得越来越“高科技”，我们越来越依赖它。量子技术利用量子物理学的怪异和反直觉的特征，可以为通信和数据提供更大的安全性。或者是可以更好地测量和感知事物的技术。英国在量子技术研究方面有着世界公认的杰出记录。现在是时候让这项研究进展到新量子技术的开发、演示和商业化了。英国政府已经认识到这一事实，并已向科学和技术预算注入2.7亿英镑以实现这一目标。这2.7亿英镑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。我们对这一努力的拟议贡献是新量子通信技术的中心。数据和通信安全在当今社会中是绝对必要的-对于个人，机构，企业，政府和国家。当前的安全通信系统具有漏洞，一些漏洞今天暴露，而另一些漏洞随着计算能力和黑客技术的改进可能在未来暴露。基于量子物理学的安全通信可以消除其中一些漏洞，提供安全性受到自然法则支持的系统。量子物理学的基本特征使得安全通信成为可能：（i）量子系统中编码的信息不能被复制;（ii）当有人读取量子系统中编码的信息时，它会不可逆地改变。直觉上，人们可以看到这些事实将确保窃听量子通信的人总是被抓住。这可以用于量子通信系统，以保证安全性。“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，并承诺夏娃对此一无所知，然后他们可以使用这个密钥来保护未来的一系列通信和交易。然而，它们确实需要消耗密钥来维持安全性，因此需要通过量子手段定期补充安全密钥（量子密钥分发，或QKD）。量子通信系统的演示已经存在了许多年，但其能力的限制阻碍了这些技术的大规模商业化。我们的中心的宏伟愿景是开发新的量子通信技术，克服这些限制，实现广泛的使用和采用-从政府和商业到消费者和家庭。我们的目标是为移动的设备（如“手机”）开发短距离、低成本的QKD。我们的目标是开发芯片级QKD模块，以便于制造和广泛和通用的部署。我们的目标是通过网络展示QKD及其与传统通信的集成。我们还致力于研究量子通信的新方向，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。英国有很大的潜力成为一系列新的高科技量子技术的世界领导者。此外，量子通信部门对国家特别重要。由于所有的安全和密码技术都是敏感的，并受到进出口管制，因此英国在新的量子通信领域建立“主权能力”至关重要。我们在中心组建了一支由科学家和工程师组成的优秀团队，以实现这一目标。

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.