Researchers at Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory transmitted quantum information through open air across 13 miles, a milestone toward adding wireless links to New York State's record-setting quantum communications network.
The experiment sent light particles from Stony Brook's Quantum Watchtower to Brookhaven's Quantum Lighthouse in Upton and could help connect future quantum computers beyond the limits of fiber-optic cables.
A wireless link joins a 161-mile network
Researchers used a laser to generate quantum states of light containing only a few photons. The particles left an optical-fiber core about 5 microns wide, less than one-tenth the width of a human hair, before traveling through open air to Brookhaven.
The existing network spans 161 miles and connects eight nodes across several institutions on Long Island and in the New York City metropolitan area. A third facility under development at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, is planned as part of the free-space optical link.
The fiber network carries entangled photons, which remain linked under the laws of quantum mechanics. Researchers said the successful open-air test shows a possible way to connect quantum devices across longer distances.
State invested $300 million in Stony Brook hub
New York committed $300 million last year to establish a Quantum Research and Innovation Hub at Stony Brook. The facility is intended to support research and education in quantum science, with a focus on communications and networking.
Stony Brook President Andrea Goldsmith said combining the wireless link with a metropolitan fiber network represents a major advance toward a quantum internet of things and more secure data transmission. Brookhaven Lab Director John Hill said the test is one step in a broader effort to connect increasingly sophisticated quantum systems for computing, communications and sensing.
State officials said expanded quantum networking could support research, cybersecurity, finance, health care and large-scale computing while using less energy. Researchers ultimately hope to connect future quantum computers at Stony Brook and Brookhaven so they can work together on scientific problems.
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