Development of a Boston-area 50-km fiber quantum network testbed
Eric A. Bersin, Matthew E. Grein, Madison Sutula, Ryan P. Murphy, Yan Qi Huan, Mark L. Stevens, Aziza Suleymanzade, Catherine Lee, Ralf Riedinger, David J. Starling, Pieter-Jan Stas, Can M. Knaut, Neil E. Sinclair, Daniel Assumpção, Yan-Cheng Wei, Erik Knall, Bartholomeus Machielse, Денис Дмитриевич Сукачев, David Levonian, Mihir K. Bhaskar, Marko Lončar, Scott A. Hamilton, Mikhail D. Lukin, Dirk Englund, P. Ben Dixon
Distributing quantum information between remote systems will necessitate the integration of emerging quantum components with existing communication infrastructure. This requires understanding the channel-induced degradations of the transmitted quantum signals, beyond the typical characterization methods for classical communication systems. Here we report on a comprehensive characterization of a Boston-Area Quantum Network (BARQNET) telecom fiber testbed, measuring the time-of-flight, polarization, and phase noise imparted on transmitted signals. We further design and demonstrate a compensation system that is both resilient to these noise sources and compatible with integration of emerging quantum memory components on the deployed link. These results have utility for future work on the BARQNET as well as other quantum network testbeds in development, enabling near-term quantum networking demonstrations and informing what areas of technology development will be most impactful in advancing future system capabilities.
Distributing quantum information between remote systems will necessitate the integration of emerging quantum components with existing communication infrastructure. This requires understanding the channel-induced degradations of the transmitted quantum signals, beyond the typical characterization methods for classical communication systems. Here we report on a comprehensive characterization of a Boston-Area Quantum Network (BARQNET) telecom fiber testbed, measuring the time-of-flight, polarization, and phase noise imparted on transmitted signals. We further design and demonstrate a compensation system that is both resilient to these noise sources and compatible with integration of emerging quantum memory components on the deployed link. These results have utility for future work on the BARQNET as well as other quantum network testbeds in development, enabling near-term quantum networking demonstrations and informing what areas of technology development will be most impactful in advancing future system capabilities.
Deploying quantum networks over existing network infrastructures requires the same engineering foundations that underpin classical communications: quantitative models of the channel's noise and of the impairments it imposes on the transmitted information. In this work, we build such a foundation on experimental measurements, grounding the quantum-network counterparts of the two cornerstone metrics of classical link characterization - namely, the SINR and the BER - on a 7.3 km deployed metropolitan-scale fiber-loop interconnecting two campuses of the University of Naples Federico II within the national QuantumInternet.it testbed. On the noise side, we adopt a photon-counting quantum analog of the SINR - in which dark counts constitute the intrinsic noise and the photons generated by classical traffic (through either spontaneous Raman scattering or inter-fiber crosstalk) constitute the interference - and we quantify each contribution directly on the deployed loop. On the bit-error side, we consider the main degrees-of-freedom available to encode a quantum state within an optical photon - namely, polarization, time, and frequency - and we quantify for each degree the channel-induced degradation and its drift over time. These results show that a quantum fiber link, like its classical counterpart, can be captured by a small set of measurable parameters, turning quantum networking over deployed fiber from a physics demonstration into an engineering design problem. Together, they provide the key ingredients of a quantum link budget for the Quantum Internet.
The coexistence of quantum and classical signals in optical fiber infrastructures represents a major challenge for large-scale quantum networks, as noise sources such as Raman scattering can significantly impact entanglement distribution, and the quantum protocols based on it. In this work, we analyze Raman scattering in the C-band, used for entanglement distribution, generated by a classical the O-band signal. The main contribution of this study lays in investigating these effects in a real metropolitan-fiber network, moving beyond controlled laboratory experiments to deployed telecommunication environments. Measurements are performed over a 7 km metropolitan fiber link using commercial sources and narrowband lasers. The experimental results shows good agreement between the measurements taken under laboratory conditions, although, within the metropolitan-scale loop, localized spectral anomalies are observed in the deployed fibers. Therefore, our results show that, whenever a quantum signal propagates in the C-band alongside an O-band classical channel within the same fiber, careful selection of the operating frequency is required, as Raman scattering and other real-world noise sources can significantly affect the quality and stability of the quantum transmission. In particular, we identify spectral regions that are less affected by Raman noise, thereby providing practical guidelines for optimal quantum channel allocation. We demonstrate that Raman-induced noise constitutes a dominant contribution to the quantum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in realistic deployments, beyond background and detector noise. Overall, our findings offer practical insights for deploying quantum communication systems over existing fiber networks, supporting the development of robust and scalable quantum infrastructures.
The development of quantum networks marks a transformative advance in communication technologies, enabling communication security unattainable through classical signals and the interconnection of quantum computers, sensors, and devices at various scales. Leveraging classical telecommunication infrastructure, such as optical fibers and associated devices, is pivotal for practical quantum network implementation. The Washington Metropolitan Quantum Network Research Consortium (DC-QNet) is developing a quantum network testbed in the Washington, DC area based on this infrastructure. However, adapting classical systems for quantum networks introduces significant challenges, including crosstalk between classical and quantum channels, stringent synchronization precision demands, polarization drift in optical fibers, and the limitations of classical optical devices. We present experimental demonstrations of these challenges and novel solutions, including a new crosstalk characterization technique. Results are derived from real-world DC-QNet infrastructure, showcasing the feasibility and progress of quantum network implementation.
Secure communication is essential for modern society, from financial transactions to critical infrastructure. As classical encryption faces threats from advancing computational power, quantum communication provides a fundamentally secure alternative based on physical laws.
We present QuaNTUM (Quantum Network at the Technical University of Munich), a modular and extensible quantum communication testbed enabling scalable experiments across fiber-based campus networks and satellite-ground links. The terrestrial network connects research institutions in Garching near Munich via single-mode fibers in a star topology with polarization-maintaining components, multiplexers, and time-synchronized analysis modules. Active polarization control and real-time feedback support stable qubit transmission for high-fidelity quantum key distribution and entanglement distribution.
A key feature is the integration of deterministic solid-state single-photon sources, including defects in hexagonal boron nitride and excited erbium atoms, with initial deployments on small satellites to bridge terrestrial and free-space channels. As an open-access platform, QuaNTUM enables protocol development, device benchmarking, and hybrid network research, providing a foundation for scalable quantum communication and future global quantum networks.
Quantum networks exhibit enhanced performance compared to their classical counterparts, enabling secure communication and enhanced sensing protocols. Scalable quantum networks must transmit photons over distances ranging from kilometers to metropolitan scales while preserving entanglement. The objective of this thesis is to characterize the sources and switches of real-world deployed quantum networks, which require an intimate knowledge of nonlinear concepts and devices that drive these operating regimes. Importantly, quantum networks are deployed alongside existing classical communication infrastructure to ensure scalability and compatibility with established fiber-based systems. As a result, quantum and classical signals must coexist within the same telecommunication network. Because quantum infrastructure relies on optical fiber, these networks are susceptible to instabilities arising from fiber- induced effects. To fully realize a scalable quantum network, we investigated the quantum physical layer to optimize performance and identify limitations in our networking system. We characterized the performance of an entangled-photon source used to produce polarization-entangled photons. We then observe how well a high-speed, low-loss quantum switch preserves entanglement, demonstrating its utility for transmitting photons to different nodes in scalable quantum networks. We then analyze a 30 km deployed fiber located in the DC metropolitan area to examine how fiber-induced effects influence network performance. Quantum networks uniquely leverage quantum phenomena to enable fundamentally secure communication and distributed quantum computing beyond the capabilities of classical systems. To realize these advantages, careful characterization of the quantum physical layer and deployed fiber-based networks is essential, as it ensures the stability, reliability, and high-fidelity operation required for large-scale quantum network applications.