IP-Compatible Classical-Decisive Quantum Internet via Integrated Photonics
ORAL
Abstract
A practical route towards a scalable quantum internet involves improvements in chip-scale photon sources and compatibility with existing commercial fiber internet. We present a quantum-classical architecture in which an integrated photonic server emits hybrid data packets consisting of a time-ordered classical header followed by the quantum payload. Real-time error mitigation facilitated by classical analog data error detection preserves high-quality quantum state transfer. We demonstrate efficient quantum payload routing and high entanglement distribution fidelity of 0.97 on a campus-level deployed fiber network. Following the successful experiment, we propose a lightweight IP/UDP compatible protocol specifying routing information and metadata for hybrid packets, e.g. standardizing a packet for error compensation, with an intentionally versatile structure. The success of our device hardware and the broad compatibility of our IP/UDP protocol suggest a practical path to a multi-node quantum internet that fully utilizes existing commercial internet infrastructure.
*This work was supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grant GBMF12960 and DOI 10.37807 to L.F. and Y.Z.); the Office of Naval Research (ONR grant N00014-23-1-2882 to L.F.); the National Science Foundation (NSF grant DMR-2323468 to L.F. and A.Z.); an Olga and Alberico Pompa endowed professorship (J.M.S. and R.B.); and by PSC-CUNY (grant ENHC-4-93 to L.G.).
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Publication: Yichi Zhang, Robert Broberg, Alan Zhu, Gushu Li, Li Ge, Jonathan M. Smith, Liang Feng (2025). "Classical-decisive quantum internet by integrated photonics." Science, 6763, 940–944. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx6176
Presenters
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Alan Zhu
- University of Pennsylvania