With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), data traffic demand has surged, and AI data centers are facing unprecedented challenges, including faster communication requirements, surging power consumption, and quantum security threats. To address these challenges, a study recently published in the journal Advanced Photonics proposes a quantum-secure architecture that provides a solution for AI data center optical interconnect (AI-DCI) scenarios.
This quantum-secure architecture achieves terabit-per-second data transmission speeds by reducing digital signal processing (DSP) consumption, while lowering power consumption. The researchers emphasized in the paper: "Our work paves the way for the next generation of secure, scalable, and cost-effective optical interconnects." To simplify data transmission, the architecture adopts self-homodyne coherent (SHC) transmission technology, enabling the receiver to more easily decode and process signals while maintaining high sensitivity and stability. This method allows data to be sent at speeds exceeding 1.6Tbps, with lower power consumption and cost.
In terms of security, the architecture integrates quantum key distribution (QKD) technology, using the principles of quantum mechanics to generate encryption keys that cannot be intercepted or copied. Through AES-256 encryption enhanced by quantum keys, classical transmission receives strong and long-term protection. To handle both classical and quantum signals, the system employs a multi-core optical fiber design that allows different types of signals to be transmitted in parallel without interfering with each other. In laboratory tests, the system achieved an average key rate of 229 kilobits per second and supported the transmission of encrypted data at 400 gigabits per second per fiber core. In a 24-hour continuous test over 3.5 kilometers of optical fiber simulating a real environment, the system transmitted classical data at a rate of 2TB per second while maintaining an average secure key rate (SKR) of 205KB per second. It successfully encrypted and decrypted 21.6PB of classical data in real time without any errors.
This new data transmission architecture not only meets the speed requirements of next-generation data centers but also ensures strong security through the combination of photonics and quantum cryptography. It overcomes the bottlenecks of existing systems and provides a more efficient and secure data transmission solution for AI applications such as autonomous vehicles and large language models.
