Stealthy radar systems and the ability to transmit large amounts of data over long distances are a step closer thanks to a technique that could improve the efficiency of modern optics by 1000x. Traditional methods of transmitting data, such as fiber optics or laser-based radar, require 100 photons to transmit 1 bit of data. Now a team can transmit 10 bits on 1 photon – a 1000x improvement. The researchers exploit a phenomenon known as entanglement, in which the quantum state of one photon is linked to that of another, regardless of how far apart they are. Once created, each entangled pair of photons is separated by passing a laser beam made up of them through a filter made from a nonlinear crystal. This splits the beam in 2 so that each exiting beam contains 1 photon of an entangled pair.

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