How to Shape a Single Photon

Existing quantum communication devices transmit information using single photons of varying temporal profiles, or “shapes.” But in order for two devices that use differently shaped photons to communicate, the receiving device would have to convert an incoming photon into a compatible shape. To this end, Olivier Morin and colleagues at the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics, Germany, have demonstrated that they can modify the shape of a single photon via interactions with an atom inside an optical cavity.