In 2018, the U.S. National Quantum Initiative, passed in the U.S. Congress and signed by the President, formed the foundation for a new field—quantum information science and technology. In 2019, at the Lasers and Photonics Marketplace Seminar, Laser Focus World presented an emerging markets panel discussion: “Scaling quantum information systems—photonics holds the key.” The panel addressed questions and concerns about the three- to seven-year roadmap in terms of applications, engineering, and science, among other topics. This year, the Optical Industry Development Association (OIDA) is working on a roadmap of photonics needed to develop quantum technology.
With so much investment and interest in quantum technology, it makes sense to continue the discussion in this issue. After all, much research in this area is based on the use of lasers and other photonics technologies. First, Contributing Editor Jeff Hecht updates us on the quest for quantum information technology with an overview of the optical science portion of the National Quantum Initiative, emphasizing areas close to applications (see article). Then, Stephan Ritter and Jürgen Stuhler from TOPTICA Photonics provide an overview of Quantum 2.0 photonics under development, which aims to enable quantum computing and other revolutionary technologies (see article).
Besides these two quantum technology features, this issue offers eight more feature-length articles on a wide range of photonics topics and technologies. For example, our cover story highlights how chalcogenide glasses have material properties that enable cost-effective volume production of components such as aspheric lenses for IR camera systems being used in no-touch thermometers to measure people’s temperature and determine if they need to be tested further for the COVID-19 virus (see article). We also cover LWIR cameras (see article), laser diodes for compact biological instrumentation (see article), die bonding for modern photonics manufacturing (see article), pathogen detection with hyperspectral dark-field microscopy (see article), micromachining of multicore plastic optical fibers for biomedical sensing (see article), resolving sub-Angstrom surface roughness using white-light interferometry (see article), and measuring transparent domes with short coherence laser interferometry (see article). As always, I hope you enjoy this issue.
