Stephane Vinet

We present a reconfigurable quantum network architecture which enables the interconnectivity between a satellite node and a multitude of users on the ground. The network has dual-functionality : during the satellite-pass the network adopts a point-to-multipoint topology where all the users communicate with the satellite in an uplink configuration. Outside of a satellite pass, the signal is rerouted through telecom fibre to form a fully-connected network on the ground. To minimize the hardware requirements, we consider a multiplexed pulsed entangled photon source combined with a frequency-to-time mapping. We evaluate the potential of the proposed network configuration by simulating its performance for different quantum key distribution scenarios. Our results show that high key rates can be achieved in spite of limited resources on the satellite. An experimental verification of the protocol is under way, and we will present the latest findings. The promising scalability and easy integration make this network architecture a good candidate for future quantum communication networks.