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Communicating at a record 14.5 bits per received photon through a photon-starved channel

Sai Kanth Dacha1,2,*, René-Jean Essiambre1,*, Alexei Ashikhimin1, Andrea Blanco-Redondo1, Frank R. Kschischang3, Konrad Banaszek4, and Yuanhang Zhang1

  • 1Nokia Bell Labs, Murray Hill, 600 Mountain Ave, New Providence, New Jersey 07974, USA
  • 2Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
  • 3Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G4
  • 4Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies, University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warszawa, Poland

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033108 – Published 1 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/mmth-7tww

Abstract

Exploration of the Universe requires communication with Earth, either on a direct path or through a cascade of proximate celestial bodies. Microwaves have traditionally been used for space communication, but electromagnetic waves of higher frequencies, such as in the optical domain, will enable probing farther in space due to their considerably lower diffraction loss. The ultimate range limit to point-to-point optical communication, at a given transmitter power, is determined by the photon information efficiency (PIE), which measures the number of information bits extracted per photon incident on a detector. As distances across space and, consequently, path loss increases, systems achieving the highest PIE can enable communication at the longest distances. We report here an experimental demonstration of optical detection at a record PIE of 14.5 bits per incident photon, or 17.8 bits per detected photon, after 87.5 dB of attenuation. Expressed in terms of energy per bit, this corresponds to 8.84 zeptojoules per bit, or 0.069 photons per bit at 1550 nm. To our knowledge, this is the highest PIE or lowest energy per bit detection system ever demonstrated at optical frequencies. Such a sensitive detection system holds promise for a wide range of applications.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033108– Published 1 August, 2025
  • Received 7 April 2025
  • Accepted 16 July 2025
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