Quantum key distribution (QKD) exploits the laws of quantum measurements and information theory to establish secure shared encryption key between remote communication parties. In the perspective of large-scale deployment of QKD, photonic integration emerged as a promising technology a few years ago to become a widely acknowledged route to the development quantum communication hardware meeting the needs for practicality and scalability.

A critical challenge for the future adoption of QKD will be its ability to operate at high-bandwidth to better support high density and high connectivity digital communication networks. However, a viable and sustainable solution to achieve this is still missing.

The aim of the project is to develop and implement innovative approaches to scale the bandwidth of QKD communication hardware including QKD transmitters, QKD receivers and quantum random number generators using photonic integrated circuits. This may include the use of new material platforms to enable high operation speeds, new methods to improve the detection and measurement of photonic qubits, and new routes to integrate multiple functions on chip.

The results will be validated in proof-of-concept demonstrations emulating real-life scenarios.