Engineering Scalable Quantum Photonic Systems

Quantum technologies promise transformative advances in communication, sensing, and computation, but their widespread deployment depends on hardware that is compact, stable, and energy‑efficient. Photonics offers a uniquely powerful route to achieving this: photons are robust carriers of quantum information, naturally compatible with long‑distance transmission, low‑noise signal processing, and room‑temperature operation. As a result, quantum photonics has become a central platform in the effort to build practical quantum systems that move beyond laboratory‑scale demonstrations. Integrated photonics, in particular, provides the scalability, manufacturability, and architectural flexibility needed to transition quantum devices into real‑world environments. However, despite remarkable progress, most demonstrations remain limited by the need for cryogenics, fragmented component technologies, and challenges in integrating sources, circuits, and detectors into cohesive systems. Addressing these gaps is essential for unlocking the full potential of quantum photonics across emerging applications.The central challenge addressed in this Research Topic is the realization of deployable quantum photonic hardware. While major advances have been achieved in individual components (such as sources, circuits, and detectors) the field remains fragmented, with limited convergence toward scalable, robust, and application-ready systems. Key obstacles include room-temperature operation, heterogeneous integration of active and passive elements, loss management, manufacturability, and packaging strategies compatible with real-world deployment. This Research Topic aims to consolidate state-of-the-art advances across materials, devices, and system architectures, highlighting both demonstrated capabilities and remaining technological bottlenecks. By bringing together original research articles, reviews, and forward-looking perspectives, we seek to provide a coherent picture of what is already achievable with current platforms and what scientific and engineering challenges must be addressed to transition from laboratory prototypes to scalable quantum photonic hardware for communication, sensing, and information processing.This Research Topic welcomes contributions spanning the full stack of quantum photonics, from material platforms to system implementations. We invite manuscripts addressing integrated photonic materials and platforms including solid-state semiconductors and dielectrics as well as natural and artificial atoms. Topics of interest include deterministic single-photon emitters (operated at ambient conditions), hybrid-cavity engineering for room-temperature single-photon emitters, probabilistic heralded sources, hollow-core fiber systems, on-chip quantum state manipulation (encoding, interference, reconfigurability, and loss engineering), and single-photon detectors (from avalanche photodetection to integration of superconducting detectors). We also encourage contributions on heterogeneous integration (with presence of cryogenic parts), scalability, manufacturability, packaging strategies, and system robustness. Non-room-temperature systems offering interesting perspectives in terms of future room-temperature operation or scalability will also be considered. Submissions exploring the integration of these building blocks into functional quantum photonic circuits and demonstrators for communication, sensing, or information processing are particularly welcome. We invite original research articles, reviews and perspectives.Topic Editor Thibault Chervy is employed by NTT Research. Topic Coordinator Niccolò Bigagli is employed by Qunnect. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic subject. Topic editors: Stefano Azzini, Andrew Young, Thibault CHERVY, Carlos Anton Solanas Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79664/engineering-scalable-quantum-photonic-systems