Superconducting Quantum Networks (SuperQuNet)

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant aragreement no 339871.

Today superconducting electronic circuits are one of the prime physical systems to explore both foundations and technological applications of quantum mechanics. The concept of processing information more efficiently using quantum mechanics has stimulated enormous progress in control and measurement of quantum electronic circuits. Now such circuits are one of the prime contenders for realizing a viable quantum information processor. Similarly, the realization of strong coherent interactions between superconducting quantum bits and individual photons has stimulated a wide range of research exploring quantum optics in these systems. In this project we plan to investigate quantum communication using superconducting circuits, an area altogether unexplored in this domain. For this purpose we will develop both hardware and experimental techniques to realize superconducting quantum networks across distances of tens of meters. In contrast to existing experiments in which quantum information is distributed over millimetre distances only, realizing such networks will allow us to address both fundamental and practical questions.

In particular, we will create and test networking architectures for superconducting quantum information processors, we will create entanglement over distances on meter length-scales and perform Bell-tests of space-like separated objects with high detection efficiency. We also plan to realize and test elements for quantum repeaters and to explore ideas of blind quantum computation. The remarkable progress in quantum technologies based on superconducting circuits, including more than 5 orders of magnitude improvement in coherence over the last 13 years, contributes to the great potential of these systems for applications. The challenging realization of quantum networks covering larger distances will contribute to expand the range of fundamental questions addressable and applications conceivable in superconducting quantum technologies.