Patent ID: 7822342

Claim:
A communication method, comprising the steps of: creating a multiplicity of photon pairs, with each photon pair comprising a first and a second photon; sending first photons of the photon pairs to a transmitter and then sending at least some of the first photons received at the transmitter to a receiver; wherein the step of sending the first photons to the transmitter and then sending at least some of the first photons received at the transmitter to the receiver comprises the steps of: sending the first photon to the transmitter; providing at least two alternate paths for the first photon; determining the polarization direction of the first photon; and detecting the first photon at a photon detector in the transmitter or, depending upon the path taken by the first photon, detecting the first photon at a photon detector in the receiver; sending second photons of the photon pairs to the receiver; and transmitting data, as received at the receiver, in a photon pair of the multiplicity of photon pairs based upon photon polarization direction and time of detection with respect to each other of the first and second photons of the photon pair that are received at the receiver.