Quantum Communication Network Bridges Rochester Universities

Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and University of Rochester recently connected their campuses with an experimental quantum communications network using two optical fibers. The Rochester Quantum Network (RoQNET) uses single photons to transmit information about 11 mi along fiber-optic lines at room temperature using optical wavelengths.

“Our focus is on distributed quantum entanglement, and RoQNET is a test bed for doing that,” said Stefan Preble, a professor in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering at RIT.

RIT and University of Rochester have collaborated to develop the Rochester Quantum Network, using single photons over fiber-optic lines to transmit information more securely. Courtesy of RIT.

Ultimately, the researchers want to connect RoQNET to other research facilities across New York, at Brookhaven National Lab, Stony Brook University, Air Force Research Laboratory, and New York University.

“This is an exciting step creating quantum networks that would protect communications and empower new approaches to distributed computing and imaging,” said Nickolas Vamivakas, the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, who led the University of Rochester’s efforts. “While other groups have developed experimental quantum networks, RoQNET is unique in its use of integrated quantum photonic chips for quantum light generation and solid-state based quantum memory nodes.”

The research was published in Optica Quantum (www.doi.org/10.1364/OPTICAQ.546774).