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Figure 3: Illustration of a packaged photonic chip with optical fibre coupling and electrical connections.
Integrated and quantum photonics are therefore less replacements for earlier Danish strengths than new combinations of capabilities accumulated over decades: fabrication, optical communication, light – matter interaction, specialized light sources and precise control of photons.
Quantum technology shows how quickly such combinations can reshape an ecosystem. In the 1990s, there was little Danish industry devoted specifically to quantum technology; today, dedicated quantum-photonics companies coexist with established suppliers whose lasers, fibers and components have found new roles in the quantum supply chain [ 5; 9 ]. The pattern is familiar: fundamental physics, engineering and fabrication meet around an emerging opportunity, while technologies and expertise developed for earlier purposes acquire new value.
A compact ecosystem looking outward
Denmark ' s small size has encouraged close connections between universities, companies and application domains, but Danish photonics has never developed in isolation. International expertise helped seed optical communications in the 1970s, and European collaborations later provided access to fabrication, characterization and complementary knowledge that could not all be maintained nationally. This outward-looking model remains important as photonic systems increasingly combine materials, devices, electronics and applications across institutional and national boundaries.
The mechanisms supporting the ecosystem have evolved with technology. Long-term public funding helped build critical mass in optical communications, while European projects provided access to fabrication, characterization and complementary expertise beyond Denmark. More recently, large investments in quantum technology have created new research environments and industrial opportunities. Today, public funders such as Innovation Fund Denmark, Independent Research Fund Denmark( DFF) and the Danish National Research Foundation( DNRF) are complemented by major private-foundation investment, notably from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, while networks such as the Danish Optical Society( DOPS) and Danish Quantum Community( DQC) connect researchers, companies and other actors nationally.
Figure 2 maps this present-day ecosystem, from research and enabling organizations to specialized companies and their application markets.
There is no single obvious next chapter. Quantum technology is a major current driver, particularly for photonic components and supply chains [ 5; 9 ]. At the same time, artificial intelligence and cloud computing are driving optical communication towards ever shorter distances, from data centers to boards and chips, where the energy required to move information is becoming a critical constraint. Integrated photonics, sensing, metrology and biomedical technologies provide other directions.
Perhaps that uncertainty is itself the historical lesson. Optical fiber looked far from inevitable when Palle Jeppesen changed direction in 1974, and photonic crystal fibers were initially greeted with skepticism. Quantum and integrated photonics are now creating capabilities whose full range of future applications may prove equally difficult to predict. Denmark’ s experience suggests that lasting strength comes not from predicting the next technology correctly, but from maintaining the people, infrastructure and connections needed to recognize and exploit it when it arrives.
REFERENCES
[ 1 ] S. E. Miller, T. Li and E. A. J. Marcatili, Proceedings of the IEEE 61, 1726( 1973)
[ 2 ] P. Jeppesen, interview, 18 June 2026
[ 3 ] J. Ramskov, Light Unseen: A History of Optical Communications in Denmark Lyngby, Denmark: DTU Fotonik, 2012
[ 4 ] J. C. Knight, J. Broeng, T. A. Birks and P. St. J. Russell, Science 282, 1476( 1998)
[ 5 ] A. Jensen, interview, 12 June 2026 [ 6 ] L. K. Oxenløwe, interview, 12 June 2026
[ 7 ] Hamamatsu Photonics,“ NKT Photonics A / S to be renamed Hamamatsu Photonics A / S,” 25 June 2026. https:// www. hamamatsu. com / eu / en / news / announcements / 2026 / 20260625000000. html
[ 8 ] J. Mørk, interview, 3 June 2026 [ 9 ] E. S. Polzik, interview, 23 June 2026
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