Industry Portal
QCV is focused on the design and manufacture of quantum communication devices. QCV's R&D activities will enable new avenues of competitive benefits for current industries in Australia, particularly Victoria.
Vision
QCV’s vision is to assist Australian Industry to understand the implications of quantum communications and to enable new avenues of competitive benefits for current industries in Australia, particularly Victoria. QCV envisages Victorian industry will play a significant role in this new communication industry which will showcase Victoria’s R&D capability both nationally and globally.
Business Model
QCV is focused on the design and manufacture of quantum communication devices, with the aim to deliver a prototype commensurate with large-scale commercial production. Leveraged with seed funding of A$3.3 million from the Victorian State Government, QCV will acquire a return on its investments from contract work, licensing of Intellectual Property, sale of devices, facility rental and equity in “spin-off” companies.
Opportunities for Quantum Communication
The quantum cryptography market is an emerging market which is projected to grow to more than US$1 billion per year over the next five years [1]. It is expected to have a global impact on various market sectors and industries. These segments include:
- Government
- Military
- Financial sectors
- Commercial banks
- Brokerage firms
- Industrial organizations particularly automotive, pharmaceuticals, aircraft design and manufacture
- Telecom carriers
The QCV Advantage
Most electronic information today is transmitted via streams of light in optical fibres. Such communication is susceptible to eavesdropping or theft. In effect, an eavesdropper wishing to steal information can take some of the transmitted light particles, while allowing the rest to pass through. In so doing, neither communicating party is aware eavesdropping has occurred.
Quantum communication introduces a new way to transmit information, which is absolutely guaranteed to be secure by some of the fundamental laws of Quantum Physics. Instead of sending information using a large quantity of light, only single light particles (photons) are used to transmit the data. Quantum Physics guarantees that the act of an eavesdropper intercepting a single photon, even if it is just to observe it, irreversibly changes the information encoded on that photon. Furthermore, an eavesdropper is easily noticed given that they cannot replicate the information encoded on the photon without modifying it.
For quantum cryptosystems to offer absolute security, a true single photon source (SPS) is required. Current quantum communication systems rely on heavily filtered laser light to provide single photons. Such a scheme generates single photons with a reliability of 85%. This can be detrimental to the key generation rate and may comprise the practicality of quantum cryptography in high demand communication channels.
The technology currently being prototyped by QCV will resolve the existing issues of single photon generation. The QCV device is a diamond based single photon source suitable for optical fiber based quantum communications. Diamond is the only material capable of room-temperature operation. In this scheme, microscopic crystals of diamond are grown directly onto the tips of optical fibers, allowing the single photons emitted from the diamond crystals to be channeled directly into the fiber. The result is a robustly packaged, miniaturized and room temperature stable single photon source.
QCV’s prototype development program is designed to produce a device compatible with existing cryptosystems. The key technological benefits offered by the QCV single photon source include:
- ‘True’ single photon source (i.e. always emits one single photon per pulse).
- Diamond-based; which makes the source intrinsically robust, very stable to operate over long-term, operatable in normal environmental conditions with a low power requirement to stimulate single photon emission.
- Ease of integration into existing communications systems compared to other competing single photon sources.
- Potential to drastically improve performance of existing Quantum Encryption Systems (e.g. data rates and data transmission distances).
- Simplified manufacturing process and low cost.
Contact
For further information regading QCV's industry engagement program please contact us on +61 3 8344 8744
To view a short (6:40m) promotional film highlighting QCV's facilities, staff, research goals & expertise, please click on the link below: