Quantum networks are expected to be heterogeneous systems, combining distinct qubit platforms, photon wavelengths, and device timescales to achieve scalable, multiuser connectivity. Building and iterating on such systems is costly and slow, which motivates hardware-faithful simulations that explore architecture design space and justify implementation decisions. This paper presents a framework for simulating heterogeneous quantum networks based on SeQUeNCe, a discrete-event simulator of quantum networks. We introduce faithful device models for two representative platforms - Ytterbium atoms and superconducting qubits - to implement entanglement generation and swapping protocols for time-bin encoded photons. Using extensive simulations that account for disparate clock rates and quantum frequency conversion and transduction losses/noise, we map the rate-fidelity trade space and identify the dominant bottlenecks unique to heterogeneous systems. The models are open source and extensible, enabling reproducible evaluation of future heterogeneous designs and protocols.

翻译：量子网络预计将成为异构系统，通过结合不同的量子比特平台、光子波长和设备时间尺度来实现可扩展的多用户连接。构建和迭代此类系统成本高昂且进展缓慢，这促使我们开发忠实于硬件的仿真方法，以探索架构设计空间并论证实施方案的合理性。本文提出了一种基于SeQUeNCe（一种量子网络离散事件仿真器）的异构量子网络仿真框架。我们为两种代表性平台——镱原子和超导量子比特——引入了高保真设备模型，以实现基于时间编码光子的纠缠生成与交换协议。通过考虑不同时钟频率以及量子频率转换与转导损耗/噪声的大规模仿真，我们绘制了速率-保真度权衡空间，并识别了异构系统特有的主要瓶颈。这些模型为开源可扩展模型，能够对未来异构设计与协议进行可重复的评估。