Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) claim to have transmitted the quantum information carried in light particles over 100 km (62 miles), four times farther than previously achieved.

Breakthroughs in quantum physics continue to accelerate, having already shown the practical potential of quantum cryptography and increasingly making progress toward powerful, everyday, quantum computers. This new record set by NIST adds to this momentum by providing the ability to transmit quantum state information much farther than previously thought practicable.

According to the researchers, this capability was only possible through the advancement of NIST's own bespoke single-photon detectors made in its laboratory in Colorado. Utilizing superconducting nanowires created from molybdenum silicide, these detectors are so sensitive that they can record the arrival of more than 80 percent of the photons transmitted, even after traveling more than 100 km – unboosted – down an optical fiber.