A deployed quantum beacon
A graphic of a quantum beacon and its dispersal curve
Quantum beacons were devices utilized by the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 in 2152 to penetrate Suliban cloaking devices. They were positron-based, and had an output of two hundred gigawatts. The subassembly tolerances were isolated from the emitter algorithms, which was made possible by generating a stable flux between the positronic conductors and renormalizing the tertiary wave functions.
The engineering expertise required to construct the quantum beacons was provided to Captain Jonathan Archer by Daniels, the temporal agent from the 31st century, who was attempting to help Archer prove that Enterprise had been framed by the Suliban Cabal for the destruction of the Paraagan II mining colony. The beacons were mounted on Enterprise's grappler arm and deployed when in use. They were successfully used to penetrate the cloak of a Suliban stealth-cruiser, which allowed Archer, Commander Tucker, and Subcommander T'Pol to board the vessel and acquire the proof they needed. (ENT: "Shockwave")
Later that year, the Enterprise crew used the beacons to penetrate the cloaks of Romulan mines, but the beacons proved unsuccessful against the more advanced cloaking devices used on Romulan Birds-of-Prey. (ENT: "Minefield")