Researchers Transmit 10 Bit of Information with a Single Photon

The researchers devised a clever ruse to eliminate any noise. They exploited the fact that individual blue photons can split into exactly two red photons. The researchers arranged for the first photon to send a signal to the detector (which is comparable to a digital camera), which then opened up very briefly. Using a mirror, the second photon was directed at the desired letter of the specially created alphabet. However, they forced this photon to make a slight detour, so that it arrived at the target letter at exactly the same time as the detector opened up. That was the only instant at which photons were able to pass into the detector. In this way, the researchers were able to eliminate noise.

In practical terms, it is difficult to specify the maximum amount of information you can transmit with a single photon, according to Pinkse. “Using our method, there is no theoretical limit to the amount of information that can be sent. The amount of information depends on the size of the alphabet you create. But, even if you could create an alphabet with as many characters as there are atoms in our entire universe, you would still only be able to transmit a maximum of 270 bits with one photon.”

Study

Prof. Pinkse, who originally made his name by developing an unhackable credit card, says that the main objective of this study is to raise quantum communications to a higher level. “The more information you can transmit with photon, the more secure and the faster you can make quantum communication.”

Contacts and sources:
University of Twente

Citation: The study was carried out byTransmitting more than 10 bit with a single photon, Tristan B. H. Tentrup, Thomas Hummel, Tom A. W. Wolterink, Ravitej Uppu, Allard P. Mosk, and Pepijn W. H. Pinkse . Optics Express Vol. 25, Issue 3, pp. 2826-2833 (2017)