News: Optoelectronics
21 January 2026
Coherent and Quside demo verifiable entropy for quantum-safe encryption
Materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA and quantum technology company Quside have reached a milestone in hardware-based security with the demonstration of a mass-manufacturable quantum entropy source. This shows that fast, verifiable quantum entropy — an essential foundation for secure digital systems — can be embedded at scale, supporting next-generation security architectures across a wide range of applications.
The solution relies on Coherent’s vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), manufactured at scale on 6” wafers, and Quside’s quantum random number generation technology. For the first time, runtime entropy verification from a single VCSEL delivers high-quality, observable randomness suitable for cryptographic key generation, secure communications, and emerging quantum-safe and crypto-agile systems. Therefore, quantum-grade security primitives can now move beyond niche deployments into mainstream processors, secure elements, and hardware roots of trust.
“VCSEL technology has already demonstrated its reliability and scalability across data centers, sensing, and high-volume optical systems,” says Coherent’s chief strategy officer Dr Giovanni Barbarossa. “This collaboration shows how mature photonic manufacturing platforms can enable entirely new security functions while meeting the cost, reliability and scale requirements needed for broad market adoption,” he adds.
“Security systems are only as strong as the randomness they rely on,” notes Quside’s CEO & co-founder Dr Carlos Abellán. “What makes this milestone unique is not only that the entropy is generated through quantum processes, but that it is fast, verifiable and mass manufacturable by relying on volume-proven 6” VCSEL production. This moves locally verified quantum entropy technology into practical, deployable infrastructure.”
At SPIE Photonics West 2026 in San Francisco, CA, USA (20–22 January), Coherent and Quside are presenting a live demonstration of the technology alongside development kits. Attendees can explore how the solution can be integrated into next-generation secure designs, from silicon to system level, to meet growing demand in entropy generation and verification.
With manufacturing-ready components and established production processes, Coherent and Quside say they are paving the way towards high-volume commercial deployment of quantum entropy solutions designed for real-world, large-scale secure infrastructure.