Agile Ultra-Low-Energy & Secure Networks

PPS / Institutional Role and Contributions

• Fraunhofer IZM / PPS is presented as the institutional coordination, integration and demonstrator-alignment contributor for the 42-month programme. The PPS framing covers WP steering, KPI validation, review preparation, photonic-packaging integration, demonstrator convergence and cross-site validation planning.

Key PPS Technical Contributions

• Smart sliceable SBVT transceiver landscape, including DSCM-based P2P/P2MP concepts, plasmonic modulators/photodiodes and programmable silicon-photonic waveguide meshes used as real-time photonic DSP elements.
• Lossless photonic switching, including transparent C+L mesh nodes and an O-band 16×16 switch with on-chip amplification on the datacom path.
• Secure data plane for quantum-era networks using multiprotocol QKD Rx/Tx PICs, CV/DV QKD co-propagation, hybrid PQC/QKD, OPUF authentication and KMS integration.
• AI/ML-assisted control and orchestration through SDN agents, telemetry frameworks, digital twins and AI pipelines for provisioning, sensing, QoT validation and cross-domain slicing.

Major Results and Demonstrators

• WP3 achievements include first-run plasmonic TRx, photonic mesh design/fabrication/testing, SOA C/O-band designs, O-band switch design/fabrication, silicon interposer for switching packaging, digital-twin propagation/energy models and ML-based fault/energy optimization.
• WP4 achievements include QKD Rx/Tx PIC tape-out/packaging/testing, CV+DV co-propagation prototype, PQC masking, PUF lab PoCs, KMS/SDN orchestration integration and testbeds involving TUE–UoB and Telefónica.
• WP5 achievements include agents, middleware, telemetry, control-plane architecture, QoT path validation and QKD/classical orchestration.
  
• WP6 includes seven demonstrators, cross-site VPN and PQC-protected tunnels, DT-assisted orchestration, multidomain quantum-classical orchestration and techno-economic studies tracking seven KPIs.
• Demonstrator landscape includes TuriNet, Adrenaline, NaaS, PUF, Multi-Domain QKD, RAN and SDM-PON.

• Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM,  Germany (project coordination)
• Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI,​ Germany
• Aristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis, Greece
• Coriant R&D GmbH, Germany
• Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, Greece
• Infinera Unipessoal LDA, Portugal
• Ipronics Programmable Photonics  SL Spain
• Mellanox Technologies Ltd, Israel
• Cosmote Kinites Tilepikoinonies Monoprospi AE, Greece
• Technische Universditeit Eindhoven, The Netherlands
• Ericsson Telecomunicazioni  SPA, Italy
• FiberCop SPA, Italy
• Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitaro per le Telecomunicazioni, Italy
• Centre Tecnologi de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Spain
• Fondazione Links  – Leading Innovation & Knowledge for Society, Italy
• Telefonica Investigacion y Desarrollo SA, Spain
• Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain
• Politecnico di Torino, Italy
• Eulambia Advances Technologies Monoprosopi Etairia Periorismenis Efthinis, Greece
• E-Lighthouse Network Solutions SL, Spain
• Secure-IC SAS, France
• Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Switzerland
• ID Quantique SA, Switzerland
• University of Bristol, United Kingdom