Phase-stable optical fiber links for quantum network protocols

Optica Quantum 2026 Open access

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Authors: Nicholas Nardelli, Dileep Reddy, Michael Grayson, Daniel Sörensen, Martin Stevens, Michael D. Mazurek, Lynden K. Shalm, Tara M. Fortier
DOI: 10.1364/opticaq.582298
Cited by: 3
References: 38

Abstract

We demonstrate the distribution of single-photon-level pulses from a mode-locked laser source over a phase-stable fiber link, achieving an optical timing jitter of less than 100 as over 10 minutes of data accumulation. This stability enables a fidelity greater than 0.998 between two stabilized 2.1 km long deployed fiber links. Building on time and frequency metrology techniques traditionally used for high-stability optical atomic clock signal distribution, we use time and frequency multiplexing to achieve an isolation of quantum and classical channels of 8×10 10 . Our results mark a necessary step towards scalable, high-rate quantum networks with a provable quantum advantage.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Quantum Information and Cryptography Quantum optics and atomic interactions Optical Network Technologies

Publication details

Journal / source
Optica Quantum
Publisher
Optica Publishing Group
Volume
4
Issue
2
Pages
138–138
Publication date
6 February 2026
Language
EN