Roadmap on 5D Photonics for nano and beyond
Abstract
As photonic systems grow more complex, it becomes increasingly difficult to capture their behaviour within the conventional four dimensions of space and time, particularly for systems operating at the nanometer scale, where strong confinement effects, near-field interactions, and subwavelength structuring introduce additional layers of complexity. The concept of 5D photonics reflects this shift by incorporating additional physical, material, computational, adaptive, and quantum degrees of freedom as active components in design, control, and function. Rather than defining a single extra coordinate, higher-dimensional photonics is about operating photonic systems within expanded, dynamically accessible state spaces where multiple dimensions can interact and evolve together. This roadmap brings together perspectives ranging from modeling and design concepts to experimental platforms, materials, components, and system-level implementations. It covers a wide spectrum of synthetic and structured dimensions, nonlinear and strong-field regimes, adaptive and reconfigurable architectures, cyber-physical and engineering approaches, as well as inherently high-dimensional quantum and excitonic systems. Across all these areas, higher-dimensional thinking emerges not as an abstract construct but as a practical tool for enabling new functionalities, overcoming conventional design limitations, and bridging physical systems with digital and AI-driven layers. By framing these diverse developments within a shared higher-dimensional perspective, the roadmap aims to provide orientation in a rapidly expanding field, reveal conceptual connections between traditionally separate areas of photonics, and highlight common challenges and opportunities. In doing so, it positions higher-dimensional photonics as a central paradigm for developing future photonic technologies that are increasingly adaptive, intelligent, and integrated across physical and virtual domains.
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BibTeX
@article{demircan2026roadmap,
title = {{Roadmap on 5D Photonics for nano and beyond}},
author = {Ayhan Demircan and Andrey Evlyukhin and Uwe Morgner and Oliver Melchert and Ihar Babushkin and Shihao Zhang and Fabio Biancalana and Chao Mei and Jintao Fan and Peilong Yang and Günter Steinmeyer and Philippe Lalanne and Owen Miller and Hooman Barati Sedeh and Natalia Litchinitser and Virgilijus Vaičaitis and Ona Balachninaitė and Osamu Takayama and Radu Malureanu and Andrei Lavrinenko and Benjamin Wetzel and Bruno Chaves and Alessandro Tonello and Vincent Couderc and Vladimir Tuz and Anton Husakou and Luc Bergé and Xavier Davoine and Laurent Gremillet and Jan Vábe and Fabrice Catoire and Stefan Skupin and Pavel Polynkin and Jacob Barker and John Palastro and Sergey Sergeyev and Hani Kbashi and Sergei Turitsyn and Evgenii Menshikov and Paolo Franceschini and Costantino de Angelis and Maxim Gorkunov and Yuri Kivshar and S. Beuchler and B. Endtmayer and U. Langer and A. Schafelner and T. Wick and Felix Binkowski and Fridtjof Betz and Martin Hammerschmidt and Philipp-Immanuel Schneider and Lin Zschiedrich and Sven Burger and Yannik Mahlau and Lukas Berg and Marius Lindauer and Bodo Rosenhahn and Puneet Garg and Viktar Asadchy},
journal = {Nano Futures},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1088/2399-1984/ae8631},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05783660v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Roadmap on 5D Photonics for nano and beyond
AU - Ayhan Demircan
AU - Andrey Evlyukhin
AU - Uwe Morgner
AU - Oliver Melchert
AU - Ihar Babushkin
AU - Shihao Zhang
AU - Fabio Biancalana
AU - Chao Mei
AU - Jintao Fan
AU - Peilong Yang
AU - Günter Steinmeyer
AU - Philippe Lalanne
AU - Owen Miller
AU - Hooman Barati Sedeh
AU - Natalia Litchinitser
AU - Virgilijus Vaičaitis
AU - Ona Balachninaitė
AU - Osamu Takayama
AU - Radu Malureanu
AU - Andrei Lavrinenko
AU - Benjamin Wetzel
AU - Bruno Chaves
AU - Alessandro Tonello
AU - Vincent Couderc
AU - Vladimir Tuz
AU - Anton Husakou
AU - Luc Bergé
AU - Xavier Davoine
AU - Laurent Gremillet
AU - Jan Vábe
AU - Fabrice Catoire
AU - Stefan Skupin
AU - Pavel Polynkin
AU - Jacob Barker
AU - John Palastro
AU - Sergey Sergeyev
AU - Hani Kbashi
AU - Sergei Turitsyn
AU - Evgenii Menshikov
AU - Paolo Franceschini
AU - Costantino de Angelis
AU - Maxim Gorkunov
AU - Yuri Kivshar
AU - S. Beuchler
AU - B. Endtmayer
AU - U. Langer
AU - A. Schafelner
AU - T. Wick
AU - Felix Binkowski
AU - Fridtjof Betz
AU - Martin Hammerschmidt
AU - Philipp-Immanuel Schneider
AU - Lin Zschiedrich
AU - Sven Burger
AU - Yannik Mahlau
AU - Lukas Berg
AU - Marius Lindauer
AU - Bodo Rosenhahn
AU - Puneet Garg
AU - Viktar Asadchy
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Nano Futures
DO - 10.1088/2399-1984/ae8631
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05783660v1
AB - As photonic systems grow more complex, it becomes increasingly difficult to capture their behaviour within the conventional four dimensions of space and time, particularly for systems operating at the nanometer scale, where strong confinement effects, near-field interactions, and subwavelength structuring introduce additional layers of complexity. The concept of 5D photonics reflects this shift by incorporating additional physical, material, computational, adaptive, and quantum degrees of freedom as active components in design, control, and function. Rather than defining a single extra coordinate, higher-dimensional photonics is about operating photonic systems within expanded, dynamically accessible state spaces where multiple dimensions can interact and evolve together. This roadmap brings together perspectives ranging from modeling and design concepts to experimental platforms, materials, components, and system-level implementations. It covers a wide spectrum of synthetic and structured dimensions, nonlinear and strong-field regimes, adaptive and reconfigurable architectures, cyber-physical and engineering approaches, as well as inherently high-dimensional quantum and excitonic systems. Across all these areas, higher-dimensional thinking emerges not as an abstract construct but as a practical tool for enabling new functionalities, overcoming conventional design limitations, and bridging physical systems with digital and AI-driven layers. By framing these diverse developments within a shared higher-dimensional perspective, the roadmap aims to provide orientation in a rapidly expanding field, reveal conceptual connections between traditionally separate areas of photonics, and highlight common challenges and opportunities. In doing so, it positions higher-dimensional photonics as a central paradigm for developing future photonic technologies that are increasingly adaptive, intelligent, and integrated across physical and virtual domains.
SN - 2399-1984
ER -