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Quantum Enhanced Time Synchronisation for Communication Network
  • Swaraj Shekhar Nande
Swaraj Shekhar Nande
TU Dresden

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

It is essential to establish precise times in future communication networks. Any real-time task’s function depends on the system’s ability to synchronise time. Time synchronisation is critical in the current communication network and must be maintained to transmit data packets. The functionality of 6G, the Tactile Internet, Time-Sensitive Networking, and ultra-reliable low-latency communications is highly susceptible to time synchronisation. We investigated the idea of employing time synchronisation across different communication network nodes. The current state-of-the-art employs network protocols like Precision-Time Protocol for synchronising clocks across different nodes. These network protocols are not robust and can generate jitters in data transmission. In this paper, we suggested synchronising the time of the node clocks at three different places using quantum technology. Notably, the oscillation frequencies of each qubit (or oscillator) located at these nodes can be synchronised using the quantum synchronisation technique. This set of three oscillators will work as a single clock and will be the master clock of the network. We propose distributing precise time and frequency standards using quantum synchronisation on node clocks. We can synchronise the three qubits (each placed at one node) to oscillate at an identical frequency by applying an external field of a wavelength of $813.32$ nm. We analysed our model for different coupling constants and dissipation rates to provide an analysis of the behaviour of the amount of synchronisation in different experimental configurations. The optimal accuracy for our system is $1.6 \times 10^{15}$ signals per second. Further, we used the Allan deviation to examine the stability of our system for various noise strengths.
Jun 2023Published in Computer Networks volume 229 on pages 109772. 10.1016/j.comnet.2023.109772