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<\/p>\nQuantum networking chip will enable quantum computers to work together over the internet<\/p>\n
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Cisco claims its research into quantum computing will speed up the time it will take to develop viable quantum computing applications from decades to just five-to-10 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n Cisco senior vice president Vijoy Pandey made the claim on the day that the company unveiled its Quantum Network Entanglement chip, a research prototype that, he said, \u201cenables quantum networks to scale and connect quantum processors for practical applications\u201d.<\/p>\n This was developed at the Cisco Quantum Labs facility in Santa Monica, California, which the company formally opened, although Cisco has had a team working on the quantum networking stack for years.<\/p>\n The technology is intended to enable quantum computers to be networked<\/a> and therefore enable their combined power to be increased from just a few thousand qubits per quantum computer by 2030 to as many as can be networked and scaled together. \u201cIt generates pairs of entangled photons that instantly transmit quantum state between each other regardless of distance through quantum teleportation,\u201d claimed Pandey.<\/p>\n Cisco claims its quantum computing chips work over existing fibre-optic network infrastructure, can be deployed and run at room temperature (unlike quantum computers), is energy efficient (also unlike quantum computers) and offers high performance \u2013 up to one million high-fidelity entanglement pairs per output channel, with a rate of up to 200 million entanglement pairs per chip per second.<\/p>\n \u201cBeyond the entanglement chip, we’re advancing research prototypes of other critical components including entanglement distribution protocols, a distributed quantum computing compiler, Quantum Network Development Kit (QNDK), and a Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) using quantum vacuum noise,\u201d said Pandey.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIn parallel, Cisco teams are implementing post-quantum cryptography (PQC) NIST [US National Institute of Standards and Technology] standards across our portfolio, ensuring classical networks remain secure in a post- quantum world.\u201d<\/p>\n The technical details of the technology are explored in-depth in a research paper published earlier this year<\/a>. In it, the researchers describe the technology as a \u201cscalable architecture for quantum datacentre networks that distribute entanglement between QPUs [quantum processing units]\u201d.<\/p>\n The paper \u201cintroduces an architecture for quantum datacentres. The challenges for quantum datacentre network fabric are fundamentally different from classical ones\u201d, write Reza Nejabati and Ramana Kompella, researchers at Cisco Quantum Research.<\/p>\n They continue: \u201cQuantum datacentres must preserve fragile quantum states, distribute entanglement resources, facilitate teleportation between processors and synchronize operations with sub-nanosecond precision. These capabilities are not in commercial off-the-shelf networking components.\u201d<\/p>\n They propose a triple-layer architecture consisting of a physical layer of specialised quantum hardware, an \u201centanglement layer\u201d that distributes quantum resources and a compute layer \u201cthat partitions algorithms across networked processors\u201d.<\/p>\n This architecture enables multiple smaller quantum processors to work together as a unified system, they argue.<\/p>\n At the heart of this architecture is Cisco\u2019s quantum network entanglement chip, \u201ca quantum networking device that creates pairs of photons that remain connected regardless of distance\u201d.<\/p>\n The research prototype was developed in collaboration with the University of California at Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara). It utilises \u201cintegrated photonics\u201d, according to Galan Moody, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University campus.<\/p>\n \u201cIntegrated photonics enables many sources to be combined onto a single chip, and by packaging these sources with optical fibre and electronic controls, a single device can boost the entanglement rates for many users on their quantum network,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At the same time, the research centre is also collaborating with a start-up experimenting with rubidium vapour cell technology that bridges different quantum systems that operate in different frequencies. This dual-frequency source creates entangled pairs where one photon operates at near-infra-red frequency (close to most quantum computing platforms) while its partner operates at telecom frequency.<\/p>\n In addition to the quantum chip and networking research, the centre is also developing quantum switches, network interface cards and a distributed computing compiler.<\/p>\n Cisco\u2019s research comes at a time when many major companies are increasing their research into quantum computing, including Boeing, which is planning a quantum satellite network<\/a>, and Toshiba, which has claimed a breakthrough in supposedly unhackable quantum networking<\/a>.<\/p>\n