Qunnect, a start-up specializing in quantum-secure networking, announced a major technical achievement with its GothamQ quantum network in New York City. Utilizing existing commercial fiber optic cables, GothamQ has exceeded previous performance benchmarks by effectively distributing polarization-based quantum entanglement. The network demonstrated exceptionally high rates of preservation and fidelity, underscoring the capability of Qunnect's quantum networking components to support entanglement-based protocols over extended periods in real-world conditions. This advancement marks a significant step in validating the practical application of Qunnect's quantum network technologies.
Unlike most quantum networks, Qunnect uses atoms at room temperature to generate polarization entangled photons, since these qubits are native to other quantum devices such as sensors and computers. By constructing a stable network to distribute polarization qubits, Qunnect has demonstrated a path forward for other quantum networks to host applications beyond secure communications.
For this demonstration, the Qunnect team used its hardware instruments to generate, distribute, and preserve entangled photons over 34 kilometers of fiber within the GothamQ network. Its QU-SRC maintained generation rates between one to ten million polarization-entangled photon pairs per second. Meanwhile, the QU-APC preserved the fidelity of the transmitted photons through an automated protocol, minimizing the quantum bit error rate. The result was a record-breaking 99.84% network uptime over 15 days of continuous operation. During that time, the team:
- Distributed and preserved 500,000 polarization-entangled pairs per second in commercial-grade fiber channels with 17dB of transmission loss
- Maintained a quantum bit error rate below 2.5%
"GothamQ's performance as a stable, automated network that can support high-quality entanglement distribution networking protocols represents a major step forward in unlocking future applications like distributed quantum sensing and computing," said Noel Goddard, CEO of Qunnect. "As we celebrate World Quantum Day, we are proud to showcase Qunnect's first-in-class hardware as an example of the progress made in turning experimental innovations into commercial products."
"This work demonstrates that the field of entanglement distribution networking is ready to transition from proof-of-concept experiments to the era of reliable, 24/7 operation." Said Mehdi Namazi. "Important to note, we used polarization qubits, which are highly practical for transactions at the end nodes, yet notoriously hard to preserve in long, deployed fiber optic channels."
The full test results are published in a manuscript posted on ArXiv today (https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.08626), in celebration of World Quantum Day 2024.
