Quantum Technologies within INFN: status and perspectives

PHOS4BRAIN: Design and operation of Silicon Photonics optical links, as enabling technology for quantum communications

Not scheduled

15m

Archivio Antico and DEI, Aula Magna (Padova - Università degli Studi, Palazzo del Bo')

Contribution from scientific community Contributions from the scientific community Session III

Speakers

Fabrizio Palla (PI) Guido Magazzu' (PI) Simone Cammarata (University of Pisa) Sergio Saponara (DII) Gabriele Ciarpi (DII)

Description

Silicon-photonic design capability is useful in implementing quantum communication apparata, where light-based data transfer is envisioned, or for quantum key distribution in quantum cryptography.
To this aim, PHOS4BRAIN is a project funded by INFN CSN5 to design and operate high-speed radiation hard links using Photonic Integrated circuits (PIC): custom-designed Mach-Zehnder Modulators (MZM) have been shown able to withstand NIEL up to 1E16 n/cm2 and doses of ~1 Grad. Key to the exploitation of this technology is the ability to drive the MZM with suitable electronic circuits. A driver chip has been fabricated in 2019, in TSMC 65 nm and successfully operated, with single ended amplitude of 1.2 V and bandwidth of 3.5 GHz. After 800 Mrad the output voltage dropped by 25%. Used to drive a MZM and Ring Resonators (RR) shows a 3 dB bandwidth of about 2 GHz.
We are now co-designing a PIC with MZM and RR in ISIPP50g technology and a new driver in TSMC 28 nm targeting 12 GHz, due in 2020.