Project Objectives

Objective 1

Develop a space-deployable, high brightness 1550 nm EPPS with 1 GHz Pair Generation Rate and up to 97% fidelity

Qa will develop a 1550 nm space-suitable EPPS able to generate up to 35 MHz/mW photon pairs with more than 97% fidelity. The source will utilize a bulk type-0 Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion (SPDC) process. The design will consider the harsh conditions of space, such as vacuum and temperature range, and will aim to minimize the number of components and degrees of freedom for alignment to ensure stable and maintenance-free operation. SWaP requirements of the EPPS will be reduced to a volume of 25x15x10 cm3, a weight of <1.8 kg and power consumption of <15 W. The EPPS will undergo thermal cycling test process in order to prove that it will withstand the operation in relevant environment. The goal is to achieve superior performance compared to any hitherto realized space source design and to achieve a TRL5.

Objective 2

Develop a space-suitable DS-BB84 P&M source operating at 250 MHz

LaiQa aims to deliver a commercially viable P&M source with polarization encoding at 1550 nm, with a packaging volume of less than 20x18x8 cm3, a mass <600 g, and a power consumption of 35 W suitable for satellite onboard employment. The source will produce pulses with a repetition rate of 250 MHz and a polarization encoding error of <1.5%. The prototypes will undergo tests and space qualification campaign to achieve TRL 6. This will be the first space qualified EU P&M source with polarization encoding at 1550 nm, and its high-performance parameters will allow for high key rates over satellite downlinks. The source can be directly commercialized after its development.

Objective 3

Develop a photonic integrated EPPS for Next-Generation on-board transmitters

LaiQa will develop a polarization-based Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) PIC-based EPPS in the form of a < 1 mm2 photonic racetrack ring resonators. The CMOS-compatible chip-scale source will be able to provide MHz-scale photon pair emission rates using a novel low-loss photonic chip design based on multi-mode passive waveguides. High-fidelity values of >95% are targeted, including two independent pair-wise spectral windows matching the Cband ITU channels, a high spectral stability of <60MHz rms and a minimum quality factor of 104.The thermo-electric control (TEC) of the chip will allow for low-power consumption (<100 mW) and low-complexity control of the chip. The developed novel PIC-based EPPS will be combined with the QM block for in-lab demonstration of a quantum repeater link considered in the ENT-based future space quantum internet architecture.

Objective 4

Develop a Quantum Memory for Long-distance Entanglement Distribution

LaiQa will rely on Rare Earth Ion-Doped (REID) platform to develop a QM, namely Er:SO2 and Er:YSO. REID platforms are suitable due to their direct integration with 1550 nm telecommunication devices, compatibility with current laboratory infrastructure, and favourable operating temperatures. The QM system will achieve single-photon storage time of 0.1 μs, memory efficiency of 1% fidelity of 95%, and bandwidths in the order of tens of GHz, allowing for at least two spectral modes to be simultaneously stored in the memory. The QM will be integrated with the PICbased source to demonstrate a quantum echo for the development of a highly quantum information network.

Contact Details:

Project Coordinator:

Hercules Avramopoulos
hav [at] mail.ntua.gr

Dr. Giannis Giannoulis
jgiannou [at] mail.ntua.gr

Dr. Stathis Aristeidis
stathisaris [at] mail.ntua.gr

Argiris Ntanos
ntanosargiris [at] mail.ntua.gr

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