Photons and quantum technology

Although the concept of the light particle has been introduced more than a hundred years ago, it is only now that the technology has reached the level enabling us to generate single photons and experiment with them. Such experiments reveal numerous paradoxes associated with the deeply nonclassical nature of the photon and thus help us understand the very essence of quantum mechanics. Its nonclassical properties make the photon an irreplaceable tool of communication in quantum information technology.