Laser-Based Quantum Internet Breakthrough from Osaka University

(Computing.co.uk) Scientists at Osaka University claim to have made a breakthrough in the development of quantum internet communications using lasers. The researchers said that their experiments demonstrate that it is possible to translate “the information encoded in the circular polarisation of a laser beam” into the spin state of an electron caught in a quantum dot.
Applying laser light allowed scientists to read the state of the electron, which enabled them to confirm that the electron state was in the correct spin state. The readout method used by the team was based on Pauli exclusion principle, in which two electrons are not allowed to occupy the same state. According to senior author Akira Oiwa, the transfer of superposition (entangled) states allows for completely secure quantum key distribution. “This is because any attempt to intercept the signal automatically destroys the ‘superposition’, making it impossible to listen in without being detected,” Oiwa added.