Comparing one- and two-way quantum repeater architectures

Quantum repeaters are an essential building block for realizing long-distance quantum communications. However, due to the fragile nature of quantum information, these repeaters suffer from loss and operational errors. Prior works have classified repeaters into three broad categories based on their use of probabilistic or near-deterministic methods to mitigate these errors. Besides differences in classical communication times, these approaches also vary in technological complexity, with near-deterministic methods requiring more advanced hardware. Recent increases in memory availability and advances in multiplexed entanglement generation motivate a fresh comparison of one-way and two-way repeater architectures. In this work, we present a two-way repeater protocol that combines multiplexing with application-aware distillation, designed for a setting where sufficient high-quality memory resources are available—reflecting architectural assumptions expected in large-scale network deployments. We introduce a recursive formulation to track the full probability distribution of Bell pairs in multiplexed two-way repeater architectures, enabling the performance analysis of multiplexed repeater schemes which use probabilistic n-to-k distillation. Using this framework, we compare the proposed two-way protocol with one-way schemes in parameter regimes previously believed to favour the latter, and find that the two-way architecture consistently outperforms one-way protocols while requiring lower technological and resource overheads. Quantum repeaters are a fundamental building block for long-distance quantum communication, yet they face challenges from loss and operational errors. The authors introduce a two-way repeater protocol leveraging multiplexing and application-aware distillation, demonstrating superior performance and reduced resource demands compared to one-way schemes, even in scenarios previously thought to favor the latter.