FEATURE PHOTONICS WEST 2024 ROUND-UP


Six from SF: Our pick of the best stories from San Francisco


Here’s what really caught our eye over an exciting week at Photonics West


Integrated photonics acquisitions ‘a strong signal’ for quantum scaling


The acquisition of three integrated photonics companies is a “strong signal from the market” that the technology is going to be needed to scale up quantum systems, Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, the founder and CEO of Nu Quantum, told an audience at the recent Photonics West. “It has been a really interesting week for integrated photonics for quantum,” said Palacios-Berraquero, a Photonics100 honouree. “With three acquisitions announced by quantum companies of photonics companies – Infleqtion acquired two integrated photonics companies, and also ORCA Computing – it’s a really strong


Emberion


Emberion unveiled three innovations at Photonics West this year. The upgraded VS20 vis-SWIR camera series now boasts an


impressive 400 fps frame rate at VGA resolution, a rare feat in the SWIR spectrum. Jyri Hämäläinen, Emberion’s Co-founder, emphasised its significance for high-speed production lines and autonomous vehicles, offering enhanced visibility through fog and snow.


A compact version of the VS20, weighing just 450g, and


the VS20 Camera Core were also introduced, catering to diverse integration needs such as drone-mounted surveillance. Emberion also revealed plans for a megapixel SWIR camera and a monochromatic sensor for hyperspectral imaging applications, promising enhanced functionalities in HDR imaging and integration into sorting lines. These are slated for release in the first half of 2025. Emberion continues to push the boundaries of SWIR imaging technology, offering versatile solutions for various industries. www.emberion.com


8 Electro Optics March 2024


signal from the market that integrated photonics is going to be really essential to scale up quantum systems.”


Infleqtion acquires SiNoptiq and Morton Photonics On 29 January, Infleqtion announced it had acquired two integrated silicon photonics companies, SiNoptiq and Morton Photonics. A statement from Infleqtion


said the acquisitions would allow it to “to expedite plans for chip-scale integration of lasers and photonic and atomic systems, which is essential for commercialising quantum products, such as sensors and quantum computers, as well as bolstering the overall quantum supply chain and enabling quantum manufacturing at scale”. The two companies bring with them more than 40 patents and product portfolios


related to integrated lasers and photonic systems-on-chip. Infleqtion’s CEO, Scott Faris, said: “These acquisitions enhance our ability to deliver high-value quantum solutions with the scale and resiliency required by critical sectors such as defence, and for business- critical enterprise deployments.” SiNoptiq specialises in silicon nitride, a critical foundational platform for quantum applications that enables high-performance photonic lasers and the application of photonics to quantum solutions from the visible to the mid-infrared. Under the terms of the


agreement, SiNoptiq’s President and CEO, Dan Blumenthal, will join Infleqtion as Chief Photonics Architect. He will also continue his role as distinguished professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Terabit Optical Ethernet Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, specialising in ultra-low loss photonic integration and integration of atomic, quantum, and optical communications systems. “Together, we will push


the commercial boundaries of what is achievable in advancing high-performance lasers and photonics integration,” said Blumenthal. Morton Photonics develops silicon photonics-based component and sub-system technologies that enable microwave photonics and sensing systems and applications of these technologies. It also develops ultra-low noise semiconductor


lasers, which are currently being optimised for operation at quantum wavelengths. Its CEO, Paul Morton, will join Infleqtion as Vice-President of Photonics and General Manager of the newly established Infleqtion Santa Barbara Research Center. “By joining forces with the


Infleqtion team, we will drive dual-use photonic innovations and scale our impact, paving the way for synergistic breakthroughs in defence and transformative technologies like quantum radio frequency (RF) and RF photonics, as well as delivering tangible value to markets such as automotive LiDAR and 5G networks,” said Morton in the announcement.


ORCA Computing: ‘acquisition enables new hybrid photonic materials’ ORCA Computing, based in London, announced on 30 January that it had acquired the Integrated Photonics Division of GXC. Based in Austin, Texas, this division has previously delivered advanced photonics solutions to US commercial and government entities including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). ORCA said in a statement


that the acquisition “leapfrogs the company ahead, bypassing years of investment in and exploration of traditional integrated photonics materials. It positions the company at the forefront of the worldwide race to deliver powerful, scalable quantum computers”. It said the acquisition will


allow it to bring to market new hybrid photonic materials, enhancing the performance


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