The advent of quantum computing and its unprecedented computational power has called the sustainability of today’s widely established encryption methods into question. Even though quantum physics addresses this emerging threat by offering quantum key distribution (QKD) at the same time, the complexity inherent to QKD systems constitutes a roadblock for their practical introduction, especially when addressing telecommunication segments that are subject to commodity-like applications. MOSQITO is an ERC Proof-of-Concept study that aims to proof the applicability of a novel monolithic silicon integration approach that is touted as a trailblazer to greatly simplify quantum communication circuits while further providing a graceful migration path towards a seamless integration of microelectronics. We will build on a recently demonstrated silicon optical power supply, which enables light emission through a quasi-direct silicon bandgap structure – thus alleviating silicon photonic integrated circuits (PIC) from the burden of complex hetero-integration of III-V materials. MOSQITO will conduct (i) the world’s first demonstration of a PIC-based QKD transmitter for BB84 polarization-encoded key exchange, where every element has been realized exclusively on a silicon basis, (ii) an evaluation of this greatly simplified QKD hardware for commodity applications such as 6G, residential access, the Industrial Internet or massively-parallel data interconnects – all of them being segments where traditional QKD implementations cannot enter the market due to cost and size concerns, and (iii) strategic clustering activities with silicon platform partners to lay inroads for refining the silicon light emitter with respect to further performance scaling and manufacturing readiness level.

The widespread adoption of the Internet and its influence on our daily life is unquestioned. Global Zettabyte traffic has rendered photonics as indispensable for the communication infrastructure. While direct signal detection has been dismissed in radio communications decades ago, it prevails in short- and medium-reach optics in virtue of its simplicity. In such an environment photonics can only rely on incremental improvements, whereas it desperately seeks for disruptive concepts. COYOTE envisions a novel coherent homodyne transceiver concept for analogue signals and access to higher-order formats with efficiencies of 10 bits/symbol. On top of this, high-fidelity transport of multi-band 5G radio signals in the millimetre-wave range up to 100 GHz will be enabled by analogue coherent photonics while mitigating energy-hungry digital signal processing. COYOTE takes one more leap and dares the contradictory full-duplex data transmission in virtue of its novel reception engine to ultimately guarantee a lean solution with greatly simplified yet flexible “hardware”. The key asset of COYOTE’s coherent engine will be a locked laser with improved coherence characteristics together with a flexible modulator-detector element, which is capable to emulate direct-detection systems in a transparent way while giving birth to novel networking concepts. Exploration of the 3D Stokes and 2D quadrature spaces through a segmented receiver architecture will boost the spectral efficiency to >10 bits/s/Hz. It is the lean and yet efficient coherent transceiver methodology of COYOTE that will remove the currently existing boundary between direct-detection and coherent systems in the midst of network reaches. By coherently “reviving” these telecom segments of integrated wireline-wireless access networks, optical interconnects for intra-datacentre connectivity and even quantum communication, an order-of-magnitude improvement in terms of spectral efficiency x reach product will be gained.

The SETcon 2018 project aims to succesfully organize and hold the 11th SET-Plan conference in the course of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The conference is a continuation of a series of successful SET-Plan conferences. These annual events offer a chance for decision-makers, stakeholders and researchers to assess the SET-Plan's progress and to create a shared view on the necessary next steps for the implementation of the SET-Plan. The 11th SET Plan conference will take place from November 20th to 21st 2018 in the conference venue Messe Wien in Vienna, Austria. The organisers of this conference are the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology under the auspices of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism in coordination with the European Commission. The project aims to: * Share newest developments and achievements of the Integrated SET Plan to renew and intensify the participants´ commitment to the SET-Plan *Bring together diverse audiences that are accelerating development and the roll-out of low-carbon energy technologies *Create a shared view on the topics of the SET-Plan and create a momentum which will help to speed up its implementation *Inform the general public about the activities and get their support and to *Present Austria as an engaged and active contributor to the SET-Plan