An entrepreneurial mindset

If ever a blueprint was needed for entrepreneurial spirit, look no further than the Zepler Institute (ZI). A researchintensive School within the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the ZI houses one of Europe’s premier clean room facilities accommodating a unique range of photonics and fabrication capabilities, while also being home to the world-leading Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC). The ZI has a rich history entrenched in industry collaboration and enterprising pursuits.

Best defined simply as the science of light, photonics has delivered transformational technologies that fundamentally underpin countless aspects of everyday life. The emergence of this bold, buoyant cutting-edge industry at the University of Southampton has been vital to driving a thriving and enterprising photonics cluster in and around the city.

Professor Sir David Payne, Director of the ZI, explained: “We formed the ORC in 1989 as a new research institute by coalescing two optics groups, one from Physics and Astronomy and the other from Electronics and Computer Science. The ORC is now part of the Zepler Institute, so we’ve been collaborating with industry and driving forward these new technologies for over 30 years, although the original constituent groups can trace their history back to the mid-’70s.

“When it comes to the research and enterprise activity we undertake, I believe our success comes from continuously asking: ‘What does industry actually want from the research community? How can we give them a route into the future?’.”

The ZI has delivered technologies such as fibre optics which underpin the internet, fibre lasers used in eye surgery and green manufacturing and 5D data storage in silica glass. It is also pioneering next-generation technologies such as environmental sensing, silicon photonics and new metamaterials. All of these fulfil a need from industry and that’s the key.

A bright future for a hidden technology Despite the photonics research and business community providing a foundation for so much we use in everyday life, the general public is mostly unfamiliar with the term ‘photonics’ and just how important it is to the UK’s economy. It delivers £14.5 billion to the economy annually and is growing by five to 12 per cent every year. The industry employs 76,900 people in the UK and it exports an impressive 75 per cent of its manufacturing output.

The ZI and ORC work in partnership with industry on a raft of highly successful enterprising initiatives, that are delivering vital real-world impact in the world around us. Some examples are below.

Silicon photonics: This technology can move huge data volumes over short distances very quickly using very little power – perfect for data centres or, potentially, for equipping robot vehicles to monitor ocean emissions or enabling driverless vehicles to ‘see’ using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR). Professor Graham Reed leads the Silicon Photonics Group, set up in 1989 at the University of Surrey before its transfer to the ORC in 2012. “I was particularly attracted by Southampton’s unique fabrication facilities,” he explained. “They’re vital to our EPSRC-funded work, which has secured this technology’s future in the UK.”

The group recently regained a world record for data transmission speed via a silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator, and together with San Francisco-based company Pointcloud Inc has demonstrated the world’s bestperforming optical-radar chip. Graham also leads a Prosperity Partnership linking the University with US-based Rockley Photonics to pioneer third-generation silicon photonics, and Cornerstone, a rapid silicon photonics prototyping foundry run in the ZI. Cornerstone provides industry and academia with access to extremely flexible fabrication prototyping that is difficult to find in commercial fabrication facilities.

Optical fibres: Fibre optic cable solutions spin-out, Lumenisity Limited, established from the ZI in 2017, has recently closed a major funding round from a consortium of investors to further commercialise world-leading research and build a new manufacturing and testing facility.

Long recognised as the next stage of advancement in fibre optic cable technology, hollow-core fibres guide light in an air- filled core formed by a configuration of microscopic capillaries. This offers many advantages over conventional fibres which have a solid glass core.

Lumenisity maintains a strong collaboration with experts at the ZI. Professor David Richardson, Deputy Director of the ORC, said: “The ORC has contributed significantly to the remarkable growth of the photonics industry over many years and fosters a strong culture of innovation. The Lumenisity team is accelerating the development of groundbreaking fibre optic technology and provide a valuable stimulus to the local economy.”

Future Photonics Hub: Led by the ORC in partnership with the University of Sheffield, this major seven-year initiative has driven up the efficiency of photonics manufacturing processes. Ten million pounds in core funding from EPSRC underpins an initiative focused on providing national leadership in this pivotal forward-thinking field. Professor Gilberto Brambilla, Hub Manager and Deputy Director, said: “Our outstanding fabrication facilities make us a perfect partner for companies testing out novel approaches and seeking new ways of making speciality optical fibres, silicon photonics devices or other innovative optical components and sensors.

“Ultimately, photonics is an enabling technology that produces components within larger systems. Companies are constantly striving to make their products faster, smaller and more sustainable, and that’s where the Future Photonics Hub is making a difference. Organisations with an appetite for innovation and leadership, come to us to test out ideas, try new things and eventually, to redefine what is possible.”

Patent power The ZI is very aware of the pitfalls around intellectual property, which are a huge consideration and a vital asset for research initiatives and spin-outs. As such, it established a Patent Panel chaired by Professor Sir David. The panel operates in partnership with the University’s Research and Innovation Services to examine the ideas that emerge from ZI research. Ideas are evaluated for patentability, prior art, novelty and in particular exploitation potential.

Professor Sir David said: “There is no point in spending large amounts of money on patents if they cannot be exploited. The experience of the panel and rigour of the process is such that we are able to reach quite a sophisticated level of decision making.”

Cleaning up Much of the research undertaken at the ZI is done in its state-of-the-art facilities consisting of numerous cleanrooms and specialist laboratories.

In addition to the research endeavour, the ZI facilities are also made accessible to external industry partners in support of their commercial and research and development needs. This offering of ZI facilities to external partners is an enterprising win-win for the University and partners. For the companies it provides access to key facilities without requiring direct investment into high value capital, reducing risk for their product development and capital investment. For the ZI, this engagement is a source of additional revenue and enables increased impact using the facilities.

Building on a solid set of facilities access agreements already in place, a new framework has been implemented this year which is expected to draw in an estimated £350,000 of additional revenue in 2021 to 2022.

Spin-outs accelerate impact Spinning out successful companies is a clear indicator of enterprise success and the ZI excels in this area. Over the years from 1980, the ORC has spun out 11 companies. Two of the most recent are:

Highfield Diagnostics, or HDx, is a new point-of-care diagnostics technology spin-out based on EPSRC-funded research that will transform lateral flow testing for COVID-19 and other illnesses and conditions. It has enabled a highly sensitive test for COVID-19 that could make diagnosis far simpler and more effective than before.

Founding team member Professor Robert Eason explained: “HDx laser techniques will transform lateral flow testing. In current lateral flow tests, the sample to be tested flows along the test strip with a speed that is determined by the properties of the materials used. If we modify this speed then we can increase the interaction. A stronger interaction means a deeper colour on the test line which allows detection of the virus in lower concentrations in the sample, hence earlier in the infection cycle.”

Creating such testing was driven by a need to improve global point-of-care diagnostics for billions across the world for whom routine diagnostics are beyond reach.

“Initially, we asked ourselves ‘what if there was a cost-effective, rapid, sensitive, user-friendly solution that allowed the global population to access point-of-care diagnostic tests for a range of diseases including COVID-19?’,” explained Professor Eason.

“The multiplexed version of our test has more than one channel inside the flow strip, in effect a miniature four-lane highway where fluids can flow independently to perform different tests, rather than a single-track road where only one test result is possible. Detection of more than one disease or condition at a time from a single sample is a very effective diagnostic solution.”

As a University of Southampton spin-out company, the next steps are to transition swiftly from research proof-of-principle to full commercial readiness.

As HDx looks ahead, it plans to partner with global diagnostics companies to explore and innovate new applications of its core technology. It will also continue its collaboration with the University of Southampton’s Faculty of Medicine to develop novel and proprietary point-of-care diagnostic solutions.

SPI Lasers is one of the world’s leading fibre laser companies and is a longstanding Southampton spin-out celebrating 20 years of innovation. Founded in 2000, the company now sells products in more than 150 countries worldwide, employs more than 400 people and has an annual turnover of around £70 million.

In 2008, SPI Lasers was acquired by German machine tool and disc laser specialist TRUMPF GmbH for £27.8 million. This has provided the company with extra financial stability and access to much wider market intelligence.

“Our success in this technology-intensive industry has derived from our ability to take the ORC’s pioneering research, through product design and development, to full commercialisation. The strong connection we have with the University of Southampton, and in particular the ORC, was pivotal to our early success,” explained Professor Michalis Zervas, a co-founder of SPI Lasers. “Other companies starting out at the same time as us didn’t survive, as they didn’t have access to the expertise which we did. Being able to tap into the University’s vast expertise, as and when we require it, has been absolutely crucial in enabling us to not only survive, but to thrive.”

SPI Lasers still has a strong relationship with the ORC, not only through the Advanced Laser Laboratory, but also through the placements it offers and the PhD studentships it provides. SPI Lasers frequently supports researchers with commercial off-the-shelf devices to facilitate their work, and also supports the ORC and other University research groups when they apply for funding from various research councils.

For more information about the Zepler Institute please contact the Relationship and Research PR Officer, Michelle Mitchell at M.G.Mitchell@soton.ac.uk

For further information, visit: www.zepler.soton.ac.uk

Professor Sir David Payne, Director of the Zepler Institute