title: Quantum communications and beyond.
abstract: We introduce the concept of encoding and manipulation of information on single photons. This is exploited in the technique of quantum cryptography to distribute random bit strings in a secure way. More general quantum information processing requires a conditional interaction between separate photons. This can be achieved by exploiting the interference between two photons at a beam-splitter and the non-linearity inherent in detection. As yet the efficiency of such gates is low.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Rarity