Researchers at Toshiba have developed an LED (light emitting diode) capable of firing a single photon at a time, which could make sending encrypted messages truly secure. Researchers believe the diode could be used for quantum cryptography, a secure form . . .
Researchers at Toshiba have developed an LED (light emitting diode) capable of firing a single photon at a time, which could make sending encrypted messages truly secure. Researchers believe the diode could be used for quantum cryptography, a secure form of optical communication. Quantum cryptography is far safer than normal encryption as its security is based on fundamental laws of quantum physics.

Current systems of quantum cryptography are not fail-safe because they emit more than one photon (particles of light) at a time, essentially allowing a hacker to break certain parts of a code without being detected.

"Single photons are rather like magic bullets of molecular biology, in that the laws of quantum mechanics result in the certain failure of any attempt to intercept the information," said Toshiba Research's professor Michael Pepper.

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