UK project for QKD quantum key distribution receiver modules
A UK project is developing two different receiver modules for quantum key distribution to reduce the cost of secure quantum networking.
The £1.5 million MARCONI QKD receiver project is developing and demonstrating high-fidelity, modular, and scalable receiver modules with a UK supply chain.
The project aims to introduce two OEM QKD receivers based on different technologies, which are interchangeable at the optical connection point. These receivers will be constructed using UK components, ensuring a robust domestic supply chain for critical quantum networking technologies.
By developing high-performance OEM receiver modules for both small and large installations, MARCONI aims to disrupt the market and reduce reliance on single-source suppliers.
For smaller setups and short-distance communications, a four-channel single photon avalanche detector (SPAD) system will feature Noiseless InGaAs technology from Sheffield-based Phlux Technology, packaged by Bay Photonics in Devon.
For larger, long-distance applications, a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) system will be employed, incorporating enhanced SNSPDs from the University of Glasgow, cooled by a novel 1K system from Chase Cryogenics, and coupled with a new compact timetagger from Redwave Labs in Harwell.
Redwave Labs will optimise the control electronics and timetaggers for both systems, which will be coupled with an optical receiver module from the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics (CAP).
The University of Cambridge will showcase these receivers in entanglement-based discrete variable-QKD transmission across both metro and long-haul networks, using the BBM92 protocol. This demonstration will highlight the scalability and performance of the MARCONI receivers.
Redwave Labs, the system integrator, will lead the commercialisation efforts for the rapidly growing QKD market, forecasted to reach approximately $5 billion by 2028.
The QKD receiver project is backed by funding from Innovate UK under the Scalable Quantum Network Technologies: Collaborative R&D programme.
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