Resource Efficient Link-Set Configuration (RELiC)-Based Entanglement Routing

The core technology to construct large-scale quantum networks is to efficiently distribute remote entanglement among quantum nodes. Entanglement routing deals with the problem of discovering and selecting paths to perform the multi-hop entanglement swapping between two distant nodes. In order to succeed in end-to-end entanglement creation for a given path, entanglement distribution of all direct quantum links and Bell state measurement of all intermediate nodes along the path should be successful. Existing studies have addressed the entanglement routing problem based on path discovery algorithms considering the above characteristics and selecting the optimal path from the individual performance perspective of each path. In this article, we newly define the entanglement routing problem considering the joint-utilization between multiple paths to maximize the network resource efficiency, and present an optimal link-set configuration algorithm, named RELiC, as a solution for this. The performance of the proposed entanglement routing protocol is evaluated in small- and large-scale quantum networks through mathematical analysis and simulation study.