Quantum photonics breakthroughs promise low‑energy computing and secure communications

Researchers have shown that natural sunlight can generate pairs of quantum‑entangled photons, a process previously thought to require high‑power lasers. The experiment, conducted by the University of Ottawa and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and published in *Optica*, demonstrates that solar illumination can produce entanglement with comparable efficiency, potentially lowering the energy demand for future photonic quantum technologies such as secure communication and ultra‑precise sensing.

In a separate study, a team at the University of Pennsylvania led by physicist Bo Zhen created a hybrid light‑matter particle called an exciton‑polariton. Published in *Physical Review Letters*, the particle can perform a basic computational switching operation using only about 4 × 10⁻⁴⁵ joules of energy. This ultra‑low‑energy operation could dramatically reduce the power consumption of artificial‑intelligence hardware, addressing the growing electricity demand of data‑center AI workloads.

Both advances highlight how quantum photonics may enable next‑generation technologies that combine the speed of light with practical, energy‑efficient operation.