The ultimate enabling technology

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How fibre lasers can help save the planet

High power fibre laser technology boasts many unique features that set it apart from other competing technologies and could be the key to making manufacturing more efficient and sustainable.

High power fibre lasers are now routinely produced around the world and widely used in the most advanced production lines for cutting, welding and 3D printing.

Professor Michalis Zervas, a Hub Co-Investigator, shares his expertise on the environmental benefits of fibre laser technology and its potential as the industry enters the digital manufacturing era.

Read the full story here.

Investing in the next generation of photonics leaders

Early Career Researcher, Dr Natalie Wheeler knows the challenges she and her peers face when trying to ‘cross the barrier’ from postdoc to research group leader.

Space to develop ideas while having the support of colleagues and line managers who see the bigger picture, along with a funding source that provides longevity, are all needed to become an independent researcher.

Natalie reveals how she has experienced this on her way to being appointed as CoInvestigator at the Hub. Discover more about Natalie’s journey here.

A roadmap to meet the demand for silicon photonics fabrication in the UK

Silicon photonics technology uses silicon as a platform for photonic circuits to create the next generation of highly integrated optical communication systems and data infrastructure.

The silicon photonics market exceeded $600m in 2019 and is poised to grow at 30 per cent CAGR between 2020 and 2026, with the need of silicon photonics in data centre application areas continuing to drive the market forward.

Callum Littlejohns is Coordinator of the CORNERSTONE programme, a silicon photonics rapid prototyping fabrication service based at the University of Southampton. He shares his insights into the current UK silicon photonics research space and the direction it may take over the next decade, looking at how CORNERSTONE is helping to meet the current demand, what new platforms they are working on and how the Hub can support the work.

Read the full story here.

Rebuilding the UK telecommunications industry

The UK’s telecommunications industry contributes four to five per cent of the country’s GDP and plays a vital role in its economic and social well-being. In the late 1990s/early 2000s, the UK had a very healthy telecommunications industry doing world-leading research and was home to large UK-owned manufacturing companies. However, today there are few major UK-owned telecoms companies and we have a relatively modest telecoms-centric manufacturing capability. Professor David Richardson, Hub Co-Investigator and Deputy Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre, has been at the forefront of photonics research for the past 30 years. He shares his insights on the current state of the UK’s telecommunications networks and what needs to be done to ensure they keep up with society’s demand. He outlines the activities that are being carried out to address this challenge. Read the full story here.

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Keynotes and plenaries

In March of 2021, Future Photonics Hub Co-Investigator Professor Graham Reed delivered a Plenary at Photonics West Digital Forum, centred on the dramatic work in silicon photonics being spearheaded in the University of Southampton.

Photonics West is the world’s premier lasers, biomedical optics, and optoelectronics event, providing a platform for world-class speakers to share the industry’s latest challenges and advances.

Graham described the technology as game-changing for data communications, as well as applicable to an increasing number of other applications.

In September of 2021, the Future Photonics Hub returned to it’s first in person event with conviction at the SPIE Photonex and Vacuum Expo. Taking an exhibition stand and sponsoring two panel discussions about the UK’s innovation ecosystem.

In September of 2021, Professor Sir David Payne moderated vibrant debate at a Marconi Society panel on, ‘The decade of digital inclusion: Issues that keep us up at night.’

Experts from technology, policy, and digital inclusion will join forces to describe what the future could look like, the questions we need to answer, and the different points of view we have to consider. https://twitter.com/ISOC_Live/ status/1438005895913431042

Accolades

Hub Principal Investigator, Professor Sir David Payne became the eighth recipient of the Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis awarded by the German foundation Berthold Leibinger Stiftung.

A jury of renowned international experts and industry leaders recognised Professor Payne’s work on the erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA), high power fibre lasers, and his pioneering research in fibre optics technology.