Objective:
Experimental realization of the scheme of Duan, Lukin, Cirac, and Zoller [DLCZ, Nature 414, 413 (2201)] for the implementation of scalable quantum networks, including for entanglement based quantum cryptography and teleportation
Investigation of the potential of quantum measurement combined with conditional quantum evolution to accomplish objectives that otherwise require much more complex (and still unattainable) protocols such as entanglement purification
Exploration of the collective degrees of freedom of an atomic ensemble for diverse tasks in the field of quantum information, including for quantum memory and as a versatile source of single  photons and entangled fields

Approach:
Demonstrate a fully controllable single photon source (including the temporal shape of the photon wave packets)
Achieve entanglement between two spatially separated atomic ensembles (including the characterization of decoherence for the quantum memory)
Utilize this entanglement to achieve a demonstration of entanglement-based quantum cryptography
Employ entanglement between atomic ensembles as a resource for investigations of quantum teleportation of the quantum states of matter.



Our new paper is now
available online :

"Functional Quantum Nodes for Entanglement Distribution over Scalable Quantum Networks"

C.W. Chou, J. Laurat, H. Deng, K.S. Choi, H. de Riedmatten, D. Felinto, H.J. Kimble, Science, Published online on April 5, 2007;
10.1126/science.1140300

[abstract   pdf (without AAAS membership)]

Caltech Press Release


Picture of the two first nodes of our elementary quantum network.
Photo by  Nara Cavalcanti