The quantum cascade laser turns thirty and was celebrated at the latest edition of the International Quantum Cascade Laser School and Workshop (IQCLSW) and the Mid Term Review Meeting of the I-PHOQS research infrastructure, from 25 to 30 August 2024. Nature Photonics attended the event and published the meeting report talking with Miriam Vitiello (CNR), Paolo De Natale (acting director of CNR INO and Coordinator ) and Ben Williams (UCLA). to gather their views on the progress in the field and future prospects.

Semiconductor sources of mid-infrared and terahertz radiation are now addressing an increasingly diverse range of applications. “Frequency combs are key tools for metrology and frequency sensing. They also find applications in fields such as telecommunications, quantum technologies, telemetry and holography,” explained Paolo De Natale, acting Director of Cnr-Ino and scientific coordinator of I-PHOQS. Looking ahead, he believes that quantum applications could become an important driver for QCL-based combs. “High-quality mid-IR and THz combs will be needed to exploit and harness the potential of ultracold molecules for quantum technologies and metrology. Indeed, frequency combs with entangled quantum modes could be a game-changer for quantum computing, sensing and communications.”

The full report at this link https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-025-01623-2

More information on the Iphoqs mid-term review meeting at this link https://www.i-phoqs.eu/?p=2267 and this https://www.ino.cnr.it/?p=24199