Abstract

Quantum communications is the art of transferring a quantum state from one location to a distant one. On the application side, quantum communication is already relatively advanced with Quantum Random Number Generators and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems having found niche markets. However, on the academic research side quantum communication has still a long way to go until a functional quantum repeater can extend the distances to continental scales. Quantum repeaters are based on quantum teleportation, the most fascinating application of entanglement. Additionally, quantum repeaters require quantum memories with memory times close to a second; this represents one grand challenge for quantum communication.

© 2012 Optical Society of America