Field demonstration of a self-contained 10 km mobile-to-ground quantum network node via common-aperture co-propagation
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Dongkyu Kim, Dong-Gil Im, Kyungdeuk Park, Jisu Kim, Jonguk Choi, Yonggi Jo et al. · arXiv: 2610.27427v1 · Summary page
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Quantum links venture into the field
Two preprints tackle different pieces of future quantum networks under real-world conditions. In one, a mobile-to-ground optical system operated over 10.31 kilometres, sharing a telescope aperture between quantum key distribution and bidirectional classical communication. The classical channel handled the processing needed to turn quantum measurements into secret keys and then carried images encrypted with those keys using AES-256. The system produced an average of 644 secret key bits per second, demonstrating an integrated link rather than a quantum channel dependent on a separate communications connection.
The second experiment put a trapped-ion repeater node to work across 17 kilometres of metropolitan fibre. Two ions coupled to an optical cavity supported a protocol that entangled a local photon with a remote photon, achieving a Bell-state fidelity of 81.6 percent. This is not yet a chain of repeaters extending a network’s reach, but it shows that a key repeater building block can operate over existing city infrastructure. Together, the experiments test both the practical packaging and the quantum connections that networks will need.
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