Quantum Internet and Traditional Internet Unified via Optical Fiber

Researchers at the University of Hanover in Germany have developed a technique for transmitting entangled photons through optical fibers, achieving the first integration of quantum internet with traditional internet. This breakthrough is expected to significantly enhance internet security and better utilize existing infrastructure.

The researchers innovatively designed a send-receive system that allows entangled photons to maintain their state unchanged while being transmitted in optical fibers, even when sent alongside laser pulses. By rapidly changing the color of the laser pulses using high-speed telecommunication signals to match the color of the entangled photons, they successfully transmitted and separated both in the optical fiber.

This technological advancement enables the coexistence of quantum internet and traditional internet in the same optical fiber. Previously, photons of the same color as laser pulses could not be transmitted in the same fiber, as entangled photons would block the data channel, impeding the transmission of conventional data.

This experiment validates the concept for the first time, demonstrating that entangled photons can now be transmitted through color channels identical to lasers while retaining all color channels for traditional data transmission. This discovery showcases the practical applications potential of hybrid networks.