Optical quantum interconnects for networking

To advance quantum information science and technologies, a wide variety of quantum machines and protocols are being developed based on different physical systems. Interconnecting these systems is a grand challenge to scale up quantum information architectures. This effort requires to develop specialized photonic devices and capabilities, ranging from efficient photon extraction for qubit connectivity to the implementation of advanced optical memories. In this talk, I will provide an overview of the opportunities presented by networking, including long-distance quantum communication and distributed quantum computing. I will also present our recent experimental demonstrations, which enable the realization of a quantum-bit-encoding converter, the implementation and use of highly-efficient quantum memories based on laser-cooled neutral atoms, and the development of nanophotonic devices for qubit coupling.