Experimental Demonstration of Software-Orchestrated Quantum Network Applications over a Campus-Scale Testbed

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a scalable, software-defined quantum network architecture over a campus testbed, enabling automated quantum communication experiments and stable entanglement distribution.

Contribution

It introduces a prototype orchestrator for quantum networks that integrates SDN principles, supporting scalable, automated, and synchronized quantum communication across multiple buildings.

Findings

Successful 12-hour continuous entanglement distribution

Validation of scalable architecture with service-level abstraction

Distributed time synchronization across remote nodes

Abstract

To fulfill their promise, quantum networks must transform from isolated testbeds into scalable infrastructures for distributed quantum applications. In this paper, we present a prototype orchestrator for the Argonne Quantum Network (ArQNet) testbed that leverages design principles of software-defined networking (SDN) to automate typical quantum communication experiments across buildings in the Argonne campus connected over deployed, telecom fiber. Our implementation validates a scalable architecture supporting service-level abstraction of quantum networking tasks, distributed time synchronization, and entanglement verification across remote nodes. We present a prototype service of continuous, stable entanglement distribution between remote sites that ran for 12 hours, which defines a promising path towards scalable quantum networks.