Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester have established an experimental quantum communications network connecting their campuses with two optical fibres.
In a new paper published in Optica Quantum, the team details the Rochester Quantum Network (RoQNET), which uses single photons to transmit information over 11 miles of fibre-optic lines at room temperature, utilising optical wavelengths.
Quantum communications networks have the potential to significantly enhance the security with which information is transmitted, making messages virtually impossible to clone or intercept without detection. Quantum communication utilises quantum bits, or qubits, which can be physically created using atoms, superconductors, and even defects in materials like diamonds. However, photons (individual particles of light) are the best type of qubit for long-distance quantum communications.
Photons are appealing for quantum communication partly because they can be theoretically transmitted over existing fibre-optic telecommunications lines that already crisscross the globe. In the future, many qubits will likely be utilised because qubit sources, like quantum dots or trapped ions, each have their advantages for specific applications in quantum computing or different types of quantum sensing. However, photons are the most compatible with existing communications lines. The new paper, published in Optica Quantum, focuses on making quantum communication between different types of qubits in a network a reality.
“Photons move at the speed of light, and their wide range of wavelengths enable communication with different types of qubits,” said Stefan Preble, professor at the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. “Our focus is on distributed quantum entanglement, and RoQNET is a test bed for doing that.”
The researchers aim to expand RoQNET by connecting it to other prominent research facilities across New York State, including Brookhaven National Lab, Stony Brook University, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and New York University.
“This is an exciting step in creating quantum networks that would protect communications and empower new approaches to distributed computing and imaging,” said Nickolas Vamivakas, the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, who led the University of Rochester’s efforts. “While other groups have developed experimental quantum networks, RoQNET is unique in its use of integrated quantum photonic chips for quantum light generation and solid-state-based quantum memory nodes.”
RIT Microsystems Engineering PhD student Vijay Sundaram ’21 MS (physics) is the paper’s lead author. After taking a course in quantum, he realised that quantum optics was where he saw his future. Sundaram explained how quantum entanglement, or spooky action at a distance, puts quantum at the forefront of new technology.
“Quantum particles can be at either end of the universe, and they will still be completely, perfectly correlated,” said Sundaram. “These experiments have been done using bulk optics and huge telescopes. We are trying to put all of that onto a single microchip.”
Co-authors on the paper include Evan Manfreda-Schulz, Thomas Palone, Venkatesh Deenadayalan, Mario Ciminelli, and Gregory Howland from RIT; Todd Hawthorne, Tony Roberts and Phil Battle from AdvR Inc.; Michael Fanto from the Air Force Research Laboratory; and Gerald Leake and Daniel Coleman from the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute. The Air Force Research Laboratory supported the research.
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