An international research team led by QuTech has demonstrated a network connection between quantum processors over metropolitan distances. Their result marks a key advance from early research networks in the lab towards a future quantum internet. The team developed fully independently operating nodes and integrated these with deployed optical internet fibre, enabling a 25 km quantum link. The researchers published their findings in Science Advances.
Marie-Christine Slater, Scientist and quantum expert at the Center for Digital Safety & Security, was part of the project's scientific team (third on the list of authors) as part of her work in Delft as a postdoc and has been working on the project for almost three years, mainly on simulations and modeling of the system.
What was particularly exciting about the project was that it represented a major step in bringing quantum network technologies out of the laboratory and into practical use.
Researchers around the globe are working to build quantum networks that make use of these features to offer fundamentally new communication and computing capabilities, in coexistence with the current internet. For example, qubits can generate secure encryption keys for safely sharing financial or medical data. Quantum links can also connect distant quantum computers, enhancing their power and allowing access with full privacy for users.
The research team has demonstrated a network connection between quantum processors over metropolitan distances. These results mark a key advance from early research networks in the lab towards a future quantum internet. The team developed fully independently operating nodes and integrated these with deployed optical internet fibre, enabling a 25 km quantum link. These findings have been published in Science Advances on 30 October 2024.
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https://qutech.nl/2024/10/30/a-rudimentary-quantum-network-link-between-dutch-cities/