DARPA Backs Qunnect Quantum Network Hardware Upgrade

Qunnect has received a contract from DARPA to enhance a specific component of its Carina quantum networking system, as announced by the company on August 13. The funding is allocated for improvements to Carina’s polarization compensation module, which is responsible for correcting signal degradation as entangled photons traverse commercial fiber optic cables. The value, duration, and performance targets of the contract were not disclosed by Qunnect.

Contract scope

The award will support the development of the next generation of Carina’s polarization compensation module. This system continuously monitors and corrects conditions within deployed fiber that could otherwise compromise a quantum signal.

Factors such as temperature fluctuations and physical stress on cables can alter the polarization of photons during transmission, and classical error tolerance methods are not applicable to quantum states. Qunnect likens its approach to noise-canceling headphones, but for polarization drift.

This funding is specifically for engineering enhancements to an existing product, not for a new deployment or the demonstration of a novel capability. Qunnect describes Carina as the first commercially available turnkey system for quantum entanglement distribution. Therefore, the DARPA contract focuses on increasing the reliability of this hardware rather than achieving a new technological milestone.

Carina is already operational in several locations, including networks in New York, Bozeman (with Montana State University), Berlin (with Deutsche Telekom), and Albuquerque, New Mexico. These deployments predate the current contract. Qunnect emphasizes that reliability is crucial for transitioning from proof-of-concept setups to networks capable of carrying useful traffic, highlighting the present limitations and potential of the technology.

Qunnect’s statement and unspecified details

Qunnect CEO Noel Goddard connected this initiative to the company’s strategic decision to utilize existing telecommunications infrastructure. As he said:

“We made an early commitment to designing instruments that operate on the same infrastructure the world already uses. (…) For the past five years, we focused on making quantum networking practical, and we’ve validated it through deployments in cities, and through partnerships with private industry and growing support from government agencies. We know that reliability is what will separate proof-of-concept demonstrations from useful networks that enable tomorrow’s applications.”

The press release doesn’t specify the current fidelity improvement provided by the polarization module, nor does it detail the level of improvement DARPA expects from this contract. A delivery date is also not provided. Qunnect is a U.S. company with an estimated 11 to 50 employees, and its core technology is a room-temperature quantum memory device.

DARPA typically funds high-risk research across academic and industrial sectors, usually through finite programs as opposed to open-ended support. The future implications of this contract, including the possibility of integrating the improved module into existing city networks, remain unstated.