Chicago Quantum Exchange scientists are advancing quantum communication research and technology. In collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago Quantum Exchange scientists have created a Chicago-area fiber-optic network that taps the principles of quantum physics to send unhackable information across long distances. This quantum loop serves as a testbed for long-distance quantum communications experiments by researchers and collaborators from the Chicago Quantum Exchange and industry alike. Such a network could one day form the basis for a truly secure quantum internet, which would have wide-ranging impact on communications, computing, and national security. Researchers are also investigating quantum memories, quantum error correction, and other necessary components for the maintenance of quantum information. To develop these technologies, scientists are engineering and optimizing devices from materials such as diamonds, silicon carbide, wide bandgap semiconductors, and others that allow them to distribute and process quantum information more efficiently.
Research Areas
Quantum Communication
Quantum communication research applies the laws of quantum physics to protecting and transmitting data in a secure and effectively unhackable manner. To do this, quantum communications systems exploit the phenomenon of quantum entanglement, in which two particles can be so inextricably connected that any action on one particle instantly influences the second, no matter how far apart they are. This kind of quantum encryption has applications in fields such as computing and finance.