Photonics North Ottawa

Photonics North is an annual, highly specialized trade fair and international conference that has established itself as a central platform for the exchange of cutting-edge scientific knowledge, industrial innovations, and strategic research directions in the field of photonics. Organized by the Photonics North Conference Secretariat, the event is exclusively aimed at professionals from academia, industry, and government—bringing together leading scientists, industry experts, and representatives of governmental and research institutions from around the world.

A distinctive feature of Photonics North is its annually rotating venue within Canada. Cities such as Ottawa, Québec City, and Montréal take turns hosting the event, showcasing the innovative strength of different regions and promoting regional knowledge transfer in the field of photonics. This traveling format actively fosters national collaboration between research institutions, industry partners, and emerging talent, thereby strengthening the Canadian photonics community.

With its central theme “Quantum Research and Applications,” Photonics North highlights the growing importance of quantum optics, quantum communication, and photonic information processing. At the same time, it offers a remarkably broad range of topics covering nearly all key areas of modern photonics—from biophotonics and medical imaging to energy-efficient photonic technologies, high-power lasers, nanophotonics, semiconductor photonics, and the interface between artificial intelligence and optical systems.

The showcased products and services span advanced laser technologies, optical sensors, photonic materials, image processing systems, quantum communication solutions, and innovative hardware platforms for AI applications. As such, the conference attracts not only fundamental researchers but also developers of market-ready applications across sectors such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, telecommunications, renewable energy, and industrial automation.

A defining characteristic of Photonics North is its strong academic focus: all abstracts and presentations must be submitted in English, the official language of the conference. Simultaneous interpretation is not provided. However, attendees benefit from Canada's bilingualism, as many services are available in both English and French.

Photonics North is more than just a trade fair—it is a strategic forum for interdisciplinary exchange and a showcase for the innovative power of the global photonics industry. Anyone looking to help shape the technologies of tomorrow will find direct access to thought leaders in one of today’s most dynamic technological fields.

Already for the twenty-seventh time the Photonics North takes place on 3 days from Tue., 20.05.2025 to Thur., 22.05.2025 in Ottawa.