Quantum Cryptography

The reliance on fiber optic technology for communications and commerce worldwide must be supported by adequate security for fiber optic links, and current data encryption schemes will eventually yield to continued breakthroughs in computing power and algorithm capability. 

The ultimate solution in secure communications is one in which the quantum mechanical properties of single photons are used to create a theoretically unbreakable protocol for encrypting fiber optic data. A photodetector capable of sensing single photons at fiber optic wavelengths is presently the most crucial element among the component technologies required by this application. PLI’s single photon counting InGaAs APDs are the highest performance detectors available today for this application. This APD enables telecom OEM who design their own quantum cryptography system. PLI also offers this APD at the heart of its proprietary receiver subsystem that incorporates gating circuitry.