Distributing quantum information between remote systems will necessitate the integration of emerging quantum components with existing communication infrastructure. This requires understanding the channel-induced degradations of the transmitted quantum signals, beyond the typical characterization methods for classical communication systems. Here we report on a comprehensive characterization of a Boston-Area Quantum Network (BARQNET) telecom fiber testbed, measuring the time-of-flight, polarization, and phase noise imparted on transmitted signals. We further design and demonstrate a compensation system that is both resilient to these noise sources and compatible with integration of emerging quantum memory components on the deployed link. These results have utility for future work on the BARQNET as well as other quantum network testbeds in development, enabling near-term quantum networking demonstrations and informing what areas of technology development will be most impactful in advancing future system capabilities.

翻译：在远程系统间分发量子信息需要将新兴量子组件与现有通信基础设施相集成。这要求理解量子信号在信道中传输时的退化特性，其分析方法远超经典通信系统的常规表征手段。本文报告了波士顿地区量子网络（BARQNET）电信光纤测试平台的全方位表征，测量了传输信号的飞行时间、偏振态和相位噪声。我们进一步设计并验证了一种补偿系统，既能有效抵抗这些噪声源，又可兼容部署链路上新兴量子存储器件的集成。这些研究成果不仅对BARQNET的后续工作具有实用价值，亦适用于其他正在开发的量子网络测试平台，可助力近期量子网络演示验证，并指明哪些技术领域的发展将对未来系统性能的提升产生最深远影响。