PUBLICATIONS

In quantum communication with quantum repeaters, multiplexed quantum memory is expected to enhance communication rates. When using an atomic frequency comb (AFC) for on-demand storage, the frequency mode number is often limited by the optical power of the control pulses. Here, using a space-coupled waveguide electro-optic modulator, we increased the output power, allowing us to apply control pulses to multiple modes simultaneously. Further, through enhancement of an experimental setup that increases power density, we increased the number of modes. Consequently, we pioneered, to the best of our knowledge, on-demand storage using five modes of AFC. This technology is a significant achievement toward frequency-multiplexed on-demand quantum memory.

Phase-sensitive quantum communication has received considerable attention to overcome the distance limitation of quantum communication. A fundamental problem in phase-sensitive quantum communication is to compensate for phase drift in an optical fiber channel. A combination of time-, wavelength-, and space-division multiplexing can improve the phase stability of the optical fiber. However, the existing phase compensations have used only time- and wavelength-division multiplexing. Here, we demonstrate space-division multiplexed phase compensation in the Osaka metropolitan networks. Our compensation scheme uses two neighboring fibers, one for quantum communication and the other for sensing and compensating the phase drift. Our field investigations confirm the correlation of the phase drift patterns between the two neighboring fibers. Thanks to the correlation, our space-division multiplexed phase compensation significantly reduces the phase drift and improves the quantum bit error rate. Our phase compensation is scalable to a large number of fibers and can be implemented with simple instruments. Our study on space-multiplex phase compensation will support the field deployment of phase-sensitive quantum communication.

Quantum repeaters are pivotal in the physical layer of the quantum Internet. For its future development, it is desirable to have quantum repeaters capable of facilitating robust and high-speed communication. In terms of efficiency, quantum repeater schemes based on single-photon interference are seen as promising. However, this method, involving first-order interference with light sources at distant nodes, requires stringent phase stability in the components. In this paper, we present a quantum repeater scheme that leverages single-photon interference, utilizing multimode quantum memories and multimode two-photon sources. Compared to conventional quantum repeater methods, our proposed scheme significantly reduces the phase stability requirements by several orders of magnitude. Additionally, under specific conditions, it is demonstrated that our scheme achieves a higher coincidence rate between end nodes compared to existing schemes.