Resilient Entanglement Distribution in a Multihop Quantum Network

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a multihop quantum network that enhances entanglement distribution reach and resilience through adaptive, reconfigurable routing and link recovery, enabling scalable and reliable quantum communication across multiple nodes.

Contribution

It introduces a multihop quantum network architecture with adaptive bandwidth management and link recovery, advancing scalable and resilient quantum networking capabilities.

Findings

Distributed entanglement across six nodes in three subnetworks.

Achieved optimized quantum state fidelity and transmission rate.

Demonstrated network resilience through link rerouting.

Abstract

The evolution of quantum networking requires architectures capable of dynamically reconfigurable entanglement distribution to meet diverse user needs and ensure tolerance against transmission disruptions. We introduce multihop quantum networks to improve network reach and resilience by enabling quantum communications across intermediate nodes, thus broadening network connectivity and increasing scalability. We present multihop two-qubit polarization-entanglement distribution within a quantum network at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory campus. Our system uses wavelength-selective switches for adaptive bandwidth management on a software-defined quantum network that integrates a quantum data plane with classical data and control planes, creating a flexible, reconfigurable mesh. Our network distributes entanglement across six nodes within three subnetworks, each located in a separate building, optimizing quantum state fidelity and transmission rate through adaptive resource management. Additionally, we demonstrate the network's resilience by implementing a link recovery approach that monitors and reroutes quantum resources to maintain service continuity despite link failures -- paving the way for scalable and reliable quantum networking infrastructures.