  We propose an efficient quantum repeater architecture with mesoscopic atomic
ensembles, where the Rydberg blockade is employed for deterministic local
entanglement generation, entanglement swapping and entanglement purification.
Compared with conventional atomic-ensemble-based quantum repeater, the
entanglement distribution rate is improved by up to two orders of magnitude
with the help of the deterministic Rydberg gate. This new quantum repeater
scheme is robust and fast, and thus opens up a new way for practical
long-distance quantum communication.
