Physicists demonstrate new method to make single photons
Erik Arends, Leiden Institute Of Physics
Credit: Leiden Institute of Physics Scientists need individual photons for quantum cryptography and quantum computers. But if you use single photons, you gain access to a hidden level of information. Physicists create single photons as follows: A laser shines on a large artificial atom—a quantum dot—inside an optical cavity. Leiden researchers have now provided experimental evidence for a different way to produce single photons. In this method—called unconventional photon blockade—the quantum dot within the cavity is excited by light of a certain polarization.