12 April 9:00 AM PT

In a society based on the continuous exchange of sensitive data and information, the importance of secure and trustable information is essential. By exploiting principles of quantum physics, it is possible to share data in an unconditionally secure way, no longer based on mathematical assumptions, but founded on the basic principles of Quantum Mechanics.

In this context, our project relies on the development of a Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system able to increase the actual performance in terms of rate, security, distance and thus set new records for quantum communications. The key to exceeding the barriers of present QKD resides in the extensive knowledge of high-speed classical optical communications merged with future technologies based on integrated photonic circuits. Using custom silicon chips combined with nonlinear devices and high-speed optical communication it will be possible to push the limits of QKD, paving the way for new horizons.

In this lecture, I will present new types of quantum key distribution protocol, able at increasing the performance, in terms of secret key rate and link-budget distance, of the current QKD systems. Moreover, I will present new schemes for high-dimensional quantum communications systems, based on space encoding technique.

Biography

Davide Bacco is co-founder and CTO of Quantum Telecommunication Italy (QTI) and Assistant Professor at the Department of Photonics and Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). He received his degree in Engineering Telecommunication in 2011 at the University of Padova, Italy. In 2015 he finished in the same University the Ph.D. degree on Science Technology and Spatial Measures (CISAS). He has obtained national and international funding and is author and co-author of over 70 publications in peer-reviewed international journals and conferences. His know-how regards quantum communication in fiber and free-space, quantum cryptography and silicon photonics for quantum communications.