ESE Ph.D. Thesis Defense: “QuINT – Quantum Integrated Network Timing”

This dissertation presents QuINT, a modular platform for integrating new quantum and optical science into the Internet’s IP-based optical network infrastructure. Building on a recently developed chip-powered quantum-classical hybrid networking framework, QuINT provides a detailed analysis and design for enhancing the precision of the Network Time Protocol (NTP) beyond that of existing standalone synchronization systems. NTP is the most widely used time synchronization protocol, coordinating clocks across billions of devices, including servers, smartphones, scientific instruments, and GPS-enabled systems. The precision of distributed timing and synchronization is often a limiting factor in applications such as financial trading, position, navigation and timing (PNT), and large-scale scientific experiments. This work includes complete system, software and hardware specifications, and contributes to ongoing IETF draft efforts aimed at standardizing quantum-classical network integration, while demonstrating the real-world impact of silicon photonics as a bridge to a scalable quantum-augmented Internet.