Scientists from East China Normal University have achieved a historic breakthrough in the field of quantum communications, managing to teleport quantum information simultaneously through 100 independent channels. During the large-scale experiment, the team transferred the state of light encoding an image with a size of 10x10 pixels. This is the largest multi-channel demonstration of this type carried out in the world to date.
To achieve this result, the researchers created a special array of 100 spatially separated light modes. Each of these modes functioned as a separate information channel, supported by a corresponding array of entangled light (quantum entanglement), providing the necessary quantum states.
For a test image, the scientists used the letter Q, precisely distributed among the 100 light beams. It is important to note that physically the pixels or light photons themselves did not travel in space. Instead, the quantum state of the light for each individual mode was transferred, defined by its amplitude and phase. At the receiving point, the researchers were able to completely reconstruct the original matrix without loss of information.
At the moment, the scale of the system is limited to 100 channels due to the laser power used of about 1 watt. However, the team emphasizes that the technology is easily scalable and the integration of more powerful laser sources will quickly increase the number of parallel channels, opening the way to the creation of a high-speed quantum internet.