For years, researchers have known that using nonlinear optical processes could make quantum communication systems more reliable and resistant to certain types of errors. But earlier attempts struggled because these systems couldn’t operate at the extremely low light levels needed for true quantum communication.
Now, a team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has made a major breakthrough. They built their nonlinear system using an indium-gallium-phosphide nanophotonic platform, significantly boosting efficiency. Their approach works with much less light, even down to single photons, the smallest units of light, offering the first real path to practical quantum communication with nonlinear optics.
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