Interface for quantum clock links – IQ-CLIK

Precision timing is key to all aspects of modern infrastructure, from the national grid, to telecommunications, to financial trading, through to global, national, and individual navigation systems. In the case of telecommunications, a suitable timing network for synchronisation is crucial.

Optical atomic clocks, frequently referred to as "quantum clocks", can provide timing with unprecedented accuracy and stability with improvements of several orders of magnitude when compared to any currently available commercial clock. In order to harness the extreme accuracy and stability for timing and communication infrastructure, the output signal needs to be converted as loss-less as possible into signals commonly used in telecommunication networks.

To address this challenge, in IQ-CLIK, we investigate the performance of a clock-to-network interface in conjunction with a state-of-the art transportable optical atomic clock and a telecom fibre link of several kilometres of length. Additional modelling of sub-nanosecond quantum clock-assisted time dissemination will allows us to understand the scalability and costs involved in integrating such technology into national timing and communication infrastructure.

As 5G has approached the limit for network timing with current technology, a new approach is needed to meet future network applications. Hence, our project IQ-CLIK will help guiding the way to using optical atomic clocks in communication networks to provide improved network timing precision. Not only does our study explore the feasibility of quantum-supported network timing for beyond-5G networks in the long term, but it also provides the short to medium term benefits of precision timing links for a resilient critical national infrastructure. This way, the UK's immunity to the loss of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) due to unfavourable space weather or large-scale man-made interferences could be dramatically boosted.