Investing.com -- Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), a leading technology company, recently announced the unveiling of its Quantum Network Entanglement Chip, a research prototype that could potentially revolutionize the scaling and connection of quantum processors for practical applications. The company also opened its dedicated research lab, Cisco Quantum Labs, in Santa Monica, California.
The new chip is a key component of Cisco’s quantum networking vision and was developed in collaboration with UC Santa Barbara. Unique features of the chip include compatibility with existing infrastructure, practical deployment, energy efficiency, and high performance. It generates pairs of entangled photons, facilitating instantaneous connections regardless of distance through quantum teleportation.
The Quantum Network Entanglement Chip operates at standard telecom wavelengths, leveraging existing fiber optic infrastructure. It functions at room temperature as a miniaturized Photonic Integrated Chip (PIC), making it suitable for scalable system deployment. The chip consumes less than 1mW of power and can generate up to 200 million entanglement pairs per second.
In addition to the chip, Cisco’s Quantum Labs will be instrumental in advancing research prototypes of other critical components required for the quantum networking stack. This includes entanglement distribution protocols, a distributed quantum computing compiler, Quantum Network Development Kit (QNDK), and a Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) using quantum vacuum noise.
Cisco’s strategy for quantum networking follows two complementary paths. The first is building infrastructure to connect quantum processors at scale, enabling distributed quantum computing, quantum sensing, and optimization algorithms. The second path focuses on applying quantum networking principles to offer immediate benefits to classical systems through use cases such as secure communication, ultra-precise time synchronization, decision signaling, and secure location verification.
The company’s approach to quantum networking combines both software and hardware development. While some companies focus solely on one type of quantum computing technology, Cisco is building a vendor-agnostic framework that works with any quantum computing technology. This approach aligns with Cisco’s historical strength in networking, as the company aims to build the networking fabric that will enable various quantum technologies to scale.
Cisco is also implementing Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) NIST standards across its portfolio to ensure classical networks remain secure in a post-quantum world. More components of Cisco’s quantum data center infrastructure roadmap will be announced soon as the company completes its vision of the quantum networking stack.
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