Special Symposia

1. 50th Anniversary of the Semiconductor Laser
2. Space Optical Systems: Opportunities and Challenges
3. Singular Light: Applications of Vortices, Orbital Angular Momentum, Bessel and Airy Beams
4. Advances in High-Power Lasers and their Applications
5. Exploring the Quantum Frontiers of Communications
6. Quantum Engineering and Architectures[CN1]
7. Anthony E. Siegman Memorial Symposium and Reception

50th Anniversary of the Semiconductor Laser

Joint CLEO: QELS-Fundamental Science/ CLEO: Science & Innovations/ CLEO: Applications & Technology

Symposium Organizers:
Dan Wasserman, UIUC, USA
Tom Koch, Lehigh University, USA
Seth Bank, Univ. of Texas, USA

In this Special Symposium, we will review the historical development and state-of-the-art of the semiconductor laser, which has become ubiquitous to modern society, yet remains a vibrant area of research. These 50 years have witnessed remarkable progress, with device metrics improving by 4+ orders of magnitude in many cases. We will bring together pioneers at the materials, device, and applications levels to recount the history behind the demonstrations of the first semiconductor lasers, the subsequent major milestones in semiconductor laser technology, and the current state-of-the-art of the field, as well as the future of the semiconductor laser.

Invited Speakers:

Yasuhiko Arakawa; The University of Tokyo, Japan

Russel Dupuis; Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Jerome Faist; ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Charles Henry; Bell Laboratories, retired, USA

Thomas Koch; University of Arizona, USA

Morton  Panish; Bell Laboratories, retired, USA

Don Scifres; SDL Ventures, LLC, USA

David F. Welch; Infinera Corporation, USA

Ming Wu; University of California Berkeley, USA

Space Optical Systems: Opportunities and Challenges

Joint CLEO: Science & Innovations/ CLEO: Applications & Technology

Symposium Organizers:
Nan Yu; Jet Propulsion Lab, USA
David Caplan; MIT Lincoln Laboratory, USA
Iain Mckinnie; Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies, USA

Modern space telescopes have advanced observational astronomy with UV, visible and infrared measurements that impact astrophysics and cosmology in profound and unforeseen ways. Laser light sources on Earth orbiters will enhance Earth gravity field and atmospheric monitoring far beyond RF- based measurements. Space-based optical interferometers will open new windows on the universe as gravity wave detection becomes possible. Nearly all spacecraft rely on solar arrays to power onboard science instruments and avionics, but degrade over time due to photochemical processes in the space environment. Each of these in-space systems requires specialized optical designs for conditions quite different from typical terrestrial environments. Pioneering optical systems have already met the challenges of in-space operation and promise greatly enhanced science measurements and operational capabilities. This symposium will present several examples of robust space optical systems carrying out a diverse range of measurements including solar power generation, high data rate optical communications, large space telescopes, Earth observing optical instruments, and future space based interferometers. Each speaker will be encouraged to focus on optical instrument design challenges unique to space operations.

Invited Speakers:

Laser Interferometry in Space for Gravitational Wave Detection and Geodesy, Karsten Danzmann; Albert Einstein Institute: Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics and Leibniz University, Germany


Design and Performance of the Herschel Space Telescope, Dominic Doyle, The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Denmark


Qualification of Lasers For NASA Space-Based Remote Sensing Missions: Applying Lessons Learned from CALIPSO to ICESat-2, Floyd Hovis; Fibertek, Inc., USA


Preparing for Future EO Innovations: the NASA Earth Technology Program, George J. Komar; NASA ESTO, USA



Space-Based Lidar Systems, Xiaoli Sun; NASA Goddard Flight Center, USA



Space-Based Laser Communication Systems and Future Trends, Morio Toyoshima; NICT, Japan

Singular Light: Applications of Vortices, Orbital Angular Momentum, Bessel and Airy Beams

Joint CLEO: QELS-Fundamental Science/ CLEO: Science & Innovations/ CLEO: Applications & Technology

Symposium Organizers:
Siddharth Ramachandran; Boston University, USA
Andrei Rode; Australian National University, Australia

Non-Gaussian light beams, variously called structured light beams containing phase or polarization singularities, have become one of the most widely researched topics today. The diffraction-free, and self-healing properties of Bessel beams have impacted microscopy and imaging, while beams with polarization singularities are now applied towards single molecule spectroscopy, the possibilities of nan-focusing, and perhaps even particle acceleration. On the other hand, light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) possess intriguing properties that themselves have become a field of study, especially considering that they yield a new degree of freedom for encoding information for quantum and classical networks. This symposium will bring together scientists and engineers across an array of disciplines, interested in the physics and applications of such beams. Topics to be considered would include, but not be limited to, fiber, free-space and integrated-optic generation techniques, applications to the study of the physics of light, applications to microscopy, especially bio-imaging, and technological applications such as high-power laser machining and free-space propagation.

Invited Speakers:

Direct Laser Generation and Amplification of Singular Light, Nir Davidson; Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel



Measuring Light's Twist, Miles Padgett; Glasgow University, UK



The Role Optical Angular Momentum of Light in Optical Micromanipulation, Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop; University of Queensland, Australia


Using OAM Beams for Transmitting Orthogonal Data Streams, Alan Willner; University of Southern California, USA

Advances in High-Power Lasers and their Applications

Joint CLEO: Applications & Technology/ CLEO: Science & Innovations

Symposium Organizers:
Iain Mckinnie, Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies, USA
David Richardson, Univ. of Southampton, UK

High power lasers are increasingly emerging from the laboratory and into real applications.  This symposium will focus on advances in laser technology for three specific applications areas: materials processing, defense, and national science programs.  Perhaps the most mature applications are currently in the area of materials processing and, in that area, advances in the laser technology are leading to ever more precision and to an increasing range of processed materials and applications.  High power lasers are also being developed for potential applications in directed energy defense missions. Impressive defense demonstrations have been conducted, and the emphasis is currently on achieving the high power levels required by using compact and highly efficient laser architectures.  In the area of large national science programs, high peak and/ or average power lasers are being developed for diverse applications from laser-induced fusion to accelerators and fundamental light-matter interactions.

Invited Speakers:

Development and Application of Lasers for LIFE (Laser Inertial Fusion Energy), Mike Dunne; Livermore National Laboratory, USA

Raytheon Planar Waveguide Architecture for the RELI Program, Dave Filgas; Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, USA


Tailored Light for High Precision Manufacturing, Duncan Hand; Heriot-Watt University, UK



Priorities in High Power Laser Development for Directed Energy Missions, Jason Marshall; Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering, USA


Laser-Based Fundamental High Energy Physics, Gerard Mourou; The Extreme Light Infrastructure European Project, Czech Republic


Advances in Fiber Lasers for the Materials Processing Market, Tim Webber; IPG Photonics Inc., USA

Exploring the Quantum Frontiers of Communications

CLEO: Science & Innovations

Symposium Organizers:
Richard Hughes; Los Alamos National Lab, USA
Tom Chapuran; Telcordia, USA
Robert Jopson; Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent, USA
Beth Nordholt; Los Alamos National Lab, USA

The ultimate limits to communications imposed by quantum phenomena are now being probed in planned deep-space optical communications demonstrations as well as in optical fiber network test beds. At the same time the new secure communications capabilities that can be enabled by harnessing uniquely quantum phenomena are achieving a higher level of research sophistication. Large-scale optical fiber quantum communications test beds have been demonstrated in several countries, and commercial standards activities are underway. The resulting quantum communications capabilities are opening the door to new ultra-long range tests of fundamental quantum physics such as non-locality. Space-based tests of quantum mechanics and demonstrations of global scale quantum cryptography are now in the advanced planning stage. Theoretical research is leading to the emergence of wholly new cryptographic paradigms and applications, while experimental research into entanglement, teleportation, and other uniquely quantum phenomena is laying critical groundwork for the development of quantum repeaters. The proposed symposium will highlight the latest research results across the broad spectrum of theoretical and experimental quantum communications topics, from fundamental science to applications. It will bring together the optical communications, quantum cryptography, and fundamental quantum physics research communities.

Invited Speakers:

Device-independent Quantum Key Distribution, Marcos Curty; Univ. of Vigo, Spain

Quantum Limits in Space-to-Ground Optical Communications, Hamid Hemmati and Samuel Dolinar; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA


Quantum Random Numbers, Stefano Pironio; Laboratoire d'Informatique Quantique, Belgium



Information Capacities for Optical Communications: Conventional Versus Quantum Reception, Jeffrey H. Shapiro; MIT, USA


How to Overcome the Distance Barrier in Quantum Communication: Quantum Repeaters and Quantum Memory, Wolfgang Tittel; University of Calgary, Canada


Quantum Channel Capacities, Jon Yard; Los Alamos National Lab, USA

Quantum Engineering and Architectures

QELS-Fundamental Science

Symposium Organizers:
Bill Munro; NTT BRL, Japan
Gerard Milburn; University of Queensland, Australia

Quantum information-based research has reached a stage in which few-qubit devices are being demonstrated experimentally, and there is a growing need to consider practical engineering approaches for larger, more complex systems.  From the perspective of abstract theory there have been significant developments in high-threshold error correction codes and scalable architectures, but further work will be required to connect these ideas to realistic hardware implementations. This symposium will bring the leading researchers in these areas together, highlighting key results and providing an overview of where the field needs to go.

Invited Speakers:

Transport of Trapped-Ion Qubits and Scalable Architectures, Brad Blakestad; JQI/NIST, USA



The Nitrogen-Vacancy Center: Controlling Quantum Registers in Diamond, Lily Childress; Bates College, USA


Implementing the Quantum von Neumann and RezQu Architecture with Superconducting Circuits, John Martinis; University of California Santa Barbara, USA


Photonic Quantum Computing, Andrew White; University of Queensland, Australia