A long-distance quantum network for distributing entangled states would support novel information applications, such as unconditionally secure cryptography and distributed quantum computing. Realizing such a network requires hardware that can reliably and efficiently establish entanglement over long distances, despite challenges like loss and transmission delay. We propose a new scheme for distributing entanglement that increases communication rates one to two orders of magnitude over existing protocols. The method is less sensitive to overall system loss because it transmits many signals within one round-trip-time window and efficiently discriminates lost-photon events. While the scheme applies to many types of matter qubits, we analyze a specific implementation with optical quantum dots, showing that the method uses practical hardware consistent with recent experiments.
A long-distance quantum network for distributing entangled states would support novel information applications, such as unconditionally secure cryptography and distributed quantum computing. Realizing such a network requires hardware that can reliably and efficiently establish entanglement over long distances, despite challenges like loss and transmission delay. We propose a new scheme for distributing entanglement that increases communication rates one to two orders of magnitude over existing protocols. The method is less sensitive to overall system loss because it transmits many signals within one round-trip-time window and efficiently discriminates lost-photon events. While the scheme applies to many types of matter qubits, we analyze a specific implementation with optical quantum dots, showing that the method uses practical hardware consistent with recent experiments.
Entanglement distribution is a fundamental building block of quantum communication networks, enabling the secure and reliable exchange of quantum information over long distances. Unlike classical communication, quantum networks exploit the unique properties of quantum entanglement to support applications such as quantum key distribution, quantum teleportation, distributed quantum computing, and networked quantum sensing. Although significant progress has been made in recent years, the efficient generation, transmission, and preservation of entangled states remain major research challenges due to photon loss, decoherence, and limitations in current communication infrastructure.This review provides a comprehensive overview of entanglement distribution in quantum communication networks, focusing on the technologies that enable practical implementation and the latest experimental developments. It discusses key approaches for generating and distributing entangled photons through optical fibers, free-space links, and satellite-based communication, together with supporting technologies such as quantum repeaters, quantum memories, and photonic devices. The review also examines recent experimental demonstrations that have advanced long-distance quantum communication while highlighting the technical barriers that must be overcome for large-scale deployment. Finally, emerging applications and future research directions are presented, including the development of scalable quantum networks, the quantum internet, and secure global communication systems. This review aims to provide researchers and students with a clear understanding of the current state of entanglement distribution and its growing role in next-generation quantum communication technologies.
Quantum networks, integrating quantum communication, quantum metrology, and distributed quantum computing, could provide secure and efficient information transfer, high-resolution sensing, and an exponential speed-up in information processing. Deterministic entanglement distribution over long distances is a prerequisite for scalable quantum networks, enabling the utilization of device-independent quantum key distribution (DI-QKD) and quantum teleportation to achieve secure and efficient information transfer. However, the exponential photon loss in optical fibres prohibits efficient and deterministic entanglement distribution. Quantum repeaters, incorporating entanglement swapping and entanglement purification with quantum memories, offer the most promising means to overcome this limitation in fibre-based quantum networks. Despite numerous pioneering efforts toward realizing quantum repeaters, a critical bottleneck remains, as remote memory-memory entanglement suffers from decoherence more rapidly than it can be established and purified over long distances. We overcome this by developing long-lived trapped-ion memories, an efficient telecom interface, and a high-visibility single-photon entanglement protocol. This allows us to establish and maintain memory-memory entanglement over a 10 km fibre within the average entanglement establishment time for the same distance. As a direct application, we demonstrate metropolitan-scale DI-QKD, distilling 1,917 secret keys out of 4.05*10^5 Bell pairs over 10 km. We further report a positive key rate over 101 km in the asymptotic limit, extending the achievable distance by more than two orders of magnitude. Our work provides a critical building block for quantum repeaters and marks an important step toward scalable quantum networks.
Long-range quantum communication and its associated repeater network are a necessity for any future quantum Internet. The performance of such networks is currently limited by the time it takes to establish entangled links between the appropriate parties on the network. Typically this scales as the round trip time for a signal to be transmitted between those parties. We present in this talk the design of a communications network for the direct transfer of quantum information where the rate at which quantum data can be transmitted is not limited by the distance the information needs to be sent but instead by the time to perform efficient local gate operations. Our scheme requires neither the establishment of entanglement between communication nodes nor the use of long-lived quantum memories. Our scheme thus provides a much higher communications rate than in standard teleportation based schemes.
Long-range quantum communication and its associated repeater network are a necessity for any future quantum Internet. The performance of such networks is currently limited by the time it takes to establish entangled links between the appropriate parties on the network. Typically this scales as the round trip time for a signal to be transmitted between those parties. We present in this talk the design of a communications network for the direct transfer of quantum information where the rate at which quantum data can be transmitted is not limited by the distance the information needs to be sent but instead by the time to perform efficient local gate operations. Our scheme requires neither the establishment of entanglement between communication nodes nor the use of long-lived quantum memories. Our scheme thus provides a much higher communications rate than in standard teleportation based schemes.
Developments in the interdisciplinary field of quantum information open up previously impossible abilities in the realms of information processing and communication. Quantum entanglement has emerged as one property of quantum systems that acts as a resource for quantum information processing and, in particular, enables teleportation and secure cryptography. Therefore, the creation of entangled resources is of key importance for the application of these technologies. Despite a great deal of research the efficient creation of entanglement over long distances is limited by inevitable noise. This problem can be overcome by creating entanglement between nodes in a network and then performing operations to distribute the entanglement over a long distance. This thesis contributes to the field of entanglement distribution within such quantum networks. Entanglement distribution has been extensively studied for one-dimensional networks resulting in "quantum repeater" protocols. However, little work has been done on higher dimensional networks. In these networks a fundamentally different scaling, called "long distance entanglement distribution", can appear between the resources and the distance separating the systems to be entangled. I reveal protocols that enable long distance entanglement distribution for quantum networks composed of mixed state and give a few limitations to the capabilities of entanglement distribution. To aid in the implementation of all entanglement distribution protocols I finish by introducing a new system, composed of an optical nanofibre coupled to a carbon nanotube, that may enable new forms of photo-detectors and quantum memories.
This paper investigates the limitations of quantum entanglement-based long-distance communication protocols primarily due to coherence losses. A novel approach is presented that optimizes entanglement protocols to enhance communication distance and information transmission rates. The core of this method involves designing new entanglement generation and distribution schemes aimed at minimizing coherence degradation and maximizing communication efficiency. Specifically, we introduce a dynamic entanglement allocation strategy coupled with adaptive entanglement purification techniques. The proposed framework addresses the inherent challenges of maintaining entanglement fidelity over extended distances, ultimately aiming to surpass the current distance constraints associated with quantum entanglement communication. The theoretical analysis demonstrates improved performance metrics, including increased communication range and enhanced information transfer rates, relative to existing protocols. This work contributes to a more practical realization of long-distance quantum communication by mitigating coherence losses and offering a pathway towards scalable entanglement-based networks.