Software-defined Quantum Communication Systems

Abstract

We show how to extend the paradigm of software-defined communication to include quantum communication systems. We introduce the decomposition of a quantum communication terminal into layers separating the concerns of the hardware, software, and middleware. We provide detailed descriptions of how each component operates and we include results of an implementation of the super-dense coding protocol. We argue that the versatility of software-defined quantum communication test beds can be useful for exploring new regimes in communication and rapidly prototyping new systems.