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Single-Photon Source Could Help Secure Quantum Data

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SHEFFIELD, England, July 18, 2018 — Researchers have found a way to generate very rapid single-photon light pulses, a discovery that could be used to secure quantum data transfer.

Single-photon pulses offer data security, because any attempt to intercept the data can be detected immediately. The challenge has been to produce pulses that are fast enough to transfer data in high volumes.

Electrically-tunable on-demand on-chip single photon source enabled by a strong Purcell effect. Courtesy of John O'Hara. University of Sheffield.
Electrically-tunable on-demand on-chip single photon source enabled by a strong Purcell effect. Courtesy of John O'Hara.

In a waveguide-coupled quantum dot-photonic crystal cavity system, researchers at the University of Sheffield placed a nanocrystal (i.e., a quantum dot) inside a cavity within a larger crystal (i.e., a semiconductor chip). When researchers shined a laser on the quantum dot it absorbed energy, which was emitted in the form of a photon. The laser light bounced around inside the cavity that held the quantum dot, speeding up photon production.

To separate the photons carrying data information from the laser light, researchers funneled the photons away from the cavity and into the semiconductor chip.

The Sheffield team’s technique is based on a phenomenon known as the Purcell effect.

Researchers demonstrated a photon emission rate about 50 times faster than would be possible without using their technique. Researchers say that, although their approach does not achieve the fastest photon light pulse yet developed, it has an advantage because the photons produced are all identical — an essential quality for many quantum computing applications.

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On-chip single photon source array. Courtesy of John O'Hara. University of Sheffield.
On-chip single photon source array. Courtesy of John O'Hara.

Professor Mark Fox said that the use of photons to transmit data makes it possible to use the fundamental laws of physics to guarantee security.

“It’s impossible to measure or ‘read’ the particle in any way without changing its properties. Interfering with it would therefore spoil the data and sound an alarm," Fox said. "Our method also solves a problem that has puzzled scientists for about 20 years — how to use the Purcell effect to speed up photon production in an efficient way.

“This technology could be used within secure fiber optic telecoms systems, although it would be most useful initially in environments where security is paramount, including governments and national security headquarters,” Fox said.

The research was published in Nature Nanotechnology (doi:10.1038/s41565-018-0188-x).

Published: July 2018
Glossary
photonic crystals
Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner analogous to how semiconductors control the flow of electrons. Photonic crystals are often engineered to have periodic variations in their refractive index, leading to bandgaps that prevent certain wavelengths of light from propagating through the material. These bandgaps are similar in principle to electronic bandgaps in semiconductors. Here are some key points about...
quantum dots
A quantum dot is a nanoscale semiconductor structure, typically composed of materials like cadmium selenide or indium arsenide, that exhibits unique quantum mechanical properties. These properties arise from the confinement of electrons within the dot, leading to discrete energy levels, or "quantization" of energy, similar to the behavior of individual atoms or molecules. Quantum dots have a size on the order of a few nanometers and can emit or absorb photons (light) with precise wavelengths,...
quantum optics
The area of optics in which quantum theory is used to describe light in discrete units or "quanta" of energy known as photons. First observed by Albert Einstein's photoelectric effect, this particle description of light is the foundation for describing the transfer of energy (i.e. absorption and emission) in light matter interaction.
nanophotonics
Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at dimensions smaller than the wavelength of light. It involves the study and manipulation of light using nanoscale structures and materials, often at dimensions comparable to or smaller than the wavelength of the light being manipulated. Aspects and applications of nanophotonics include: Nanoscale optical components: Nanophotonics involves the design and fabrication of...
plasmonics
Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically, plasmonics deals with the collective oscillations of these free electrons, known as surface plasmons, which can confine and manipulate light on the nanometer scale. Surface plasmons are formed when incident photons couple with the conduction electrons at the interface between a metal or semiconductor...
photonic crystalsquantum dotsquantum opticsnanophotonicsplasmonicsResearch & TechnologyeducationEuropeLasersLight SourcesOpticspulsed lasersCommunicationssecurityPurcell effectsecure data transferquantum data transferphotonic crystalUniversity of Sheffield

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