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A testbed for quantum communication and quantum networks

Lijun Ma, Xiao Hong Tang, Oliver Slattery, Abdella Battou

Published May 13, 2019• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We introduce the NIST Platform for Quantum Network Innovation (PQNI) – a new testbed on the NIST campus to accelerate the integration of quantum systems into a real life, active network in a controlled scientific setting. The testbed will be used to evaluate quantum scale devices and components such as single photon sources, detectors, memories and interfaces within various quantum network protocols and configurations for performance, optimization, synchronization, loss compensation, error correction, compatibility with conventional network traffic (often referred to as co-existence), continuity of operations and more.

DOI
10.1117/12.2519081

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The realization of quantum networks requires the development of devices and methods unprecedented in conventional networks, and yet they critically depend on the latter for implementing foundational blocks and essential operations. We describe a testbed to support the development and testing of their functionality and performance by providing quantum and conventional data planes and devices, together with a secure conventional control plane. It incorporates a variety of entangled photon sources, qubit technologies, detector technologies, photonic components, and supporting conventional switches and workstations. It implements a novel fiber telescoping scheme that provides suites of connections using fiber spools and inground-aerial fiber loops. We briefly summarize a variety of experiments conducted over this testbed including: (i) flex-grid quantum connection experiments, (ii) quantum state and channel tomography, (iii) utilization of quantum key distribution keys to secure conventional encryption and firewall devices, (iv) comparative study of analytical capacity estimates and entanglement throughput, (v) deployed squeezing coexisting with conventional communications, and (iv) measurement of polarization time variation.
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.
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A quantum network will consist of many physically separated nodes connected by quantum communication channels that distribute entanglement between them. Such nodes will require mechanisms for the generation, routing, and measurement of quantum states to fulfill various quantum communication protocols between any two quantum nodes. An aim of our quantum network metrology program is to develop portable, low-cost, robust, and reliable tools that can be deployed anywhere into a quantum network testbed for these purposes. The prototype source and receiver systems described here will serve as benchmarking devices for the implementation of quantum network metrology in real-life testbeds and are, by-design, integrated into a 19” rack to allow for the easy deployment into anywhere with standard networking infrastructure. Measurements performed using this toolset have shown a fidelity of more than 0.98 with a polarization entanglement visibility of 0.97.
The quantum communications is a far distant theoretical concept that has been taken up in many developing nations, to practically actualize it in daily activities. This has its own caveat which cannot be left unhindered. Networking with optical communication and controlling entangled-photons are areas that needs to be bridged with the assistance of quantum mechanics and physics of information theory. A quantum network test bed with existing quantum devices in real life network environment is being studied at NIST since a decade. This work highlights a part of the network gateway, that can assist in communicating over long channels and geographies, considering the loss of information in terms of qubits on the go. This work presents a concept to enhance secure exchange of information, in a faulty channel, and attempts to make the communication resilient to loss of qubits, following existing architecture.