In FSO context, the basic infrastructure required to fulfill the performance requirements must contain elements like active inter-node pointing, real-time clock synchronization and active polarization control. Within this baseline architecture, high-level elements of a quantum communication link need to be seamlessly integrated. TNO’s Quantum in Space Roadmap aims at enabling a global quantum internet with a space connection.
The development of FSO systems that serve as a baseline for the establishment of quantum communication links in a metropolitan scenario is an important milestone in the roadmap, since it allows validation of the basic functional requirements of such system and enables knowledge development in a low-risk environment. Furthermore, nurturing a strong ecosystem around this challenging goal is of utmost importance.
The proposed project enables this by integrating systems from the industry and demonstrate the central role of TNO in fostering the Dutch economy towards a potential control point. This is a crucial step in establishing a knowledge position of TNO and hence the Netherlands. The demonstration of an integrated system for metropolitan free-space entanglement based quantum key distribution and synchronization serves to bridge the gap between technologies developed in a laboratory environment and a commercial system that could reach consumers in Europe in a timely fashion.