Quantum Internet: A Significant Milestone Achieved

In a laboratory at Stony Brook University, a team of physicists has taken a crucial step toward the realization of a quantum internet.

This breakthrough is based on the use of quantum memories at room temperature, an essential element for the development of tomorrow's quantum networks. Their research, published in the journal npj Quantum Information, demonstrates the feasibility of a fundamental quantum network measurement, marking a significant progress in the field of quantum communication and computing.


The quantum internet, a futuristic vision of connectivity, promises to revolutionize our current internet system by offering enhanced security and data processing capabilities unmatched by today's standards. Unlike the classic internet, it will rely on the quantum state of particles and on quantum entanglement to transmit information in a virtually invulnerable manner.

The main challenge to overcome in achieving this future internet lies in the development of efficient quantum repeaters. These devices maintain quantum entanglement over long distances, thus becoming the cornerstone of a global quantum network. The experiment conducted by the Stony Brook team focused on the development and characterization of quantum memories operating at room temperature, a major innovation that significantly reduces the costs and complexities associated with quantum technologies that require temperatures near absolute zero.

By performing a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference test, the researchers were able to demonstrate that their room-temperature quantum memories were capable of storing and then retrieving optical qubits without significantly altering their state, thereby facilitating the remote entanglement of photons. This success paves the way for the creation of large-scale quantum repeater networks, essential for the emergence of the quantum internet.

The importance of this advancement is highlighted by Professor Eden Figueroa, the leader of this research, who is already contemplating the next steps: the development of entanglement sources compatible with these quantum memories and the establishment of mechanisms to signal the presence of stored photons across the network.

The potential of the quantum internet to transform our way of communicating, computing, and analyzing data is immense. Stony Brook's innovation, with its quantum memories functioning at room temperature, represents a significant milestone on the winding but promising road toward this technological revolution.