The heterogeneity of quantum link architectures is an essential theme in designing quantum networks for technological interoperability and possibly performance optimization. However, the performance of heterogeneously connected quantum links has not yet been addressed. Here, we investigate the integration of two inherently different technologies, with one link where the photons flow from the nodes toward a device in the middle of the link, and a different link where pairs of photons flow from a device in the middle towards the nodes. We utilize the quantum internet simulator QuISP to conduct simulations. We first optimize the existing photon pair protocol for a single link by taking the pulse rate into account. Here, we find that increasing the pulse rate can actually decrease the overall performance. Using our optimized links, we demonstrate that heterogeneous networks actually work. Their performance is highly dependent on link configuration, but we observe no significant decrease in generation rate compared to homogeneous networks. This work provides insights into the phenomena we likely will observe when introducing technological heterogeneity into quantum networks, which is crucial for creating a scalable and robust quantum internetwork.

翻译：量子链路架构的异构性是设计量子网络以实现技术互操作性和潜在性能优化的核心议题。然而，异构连接的量子链路性能尚未得到充分研究。本文探讨了两种本质上不同技术的集成：一种链路中光子从节点流向链路中间设备，另一种链路中光子对从链路中间设备流向节点。我们利用量子互联网模拟器QuISP进行仿真。首先，通过考虑脉冲速率优化了单链路的现有光子对协议，研究发现提高脉冲速率实际上可能降低整体性能。基于优化后的链路，我们证明了异构网络的实际可行性。异构网络性能高度依赖链路配置，但与同构网络相比，我们未观察到生成率的显著下降。本研究为量子网络中引入技术异构性时可能观察到的现象提供了见解，这对构建可扩展且鲁棒的量子互联网至关重要。