17 December 2012
£1.2M for HiCore (High Brightness Conical Refraction Lasers) research project
A new collaborative research project has been launched aiming to exploit a novel laser technology conceived from research in the Photonics and Nanoscience group at the University of Dundee.
Conical refraction lasers offer a novel way to achieve high laser efficiency, mitigate thermal management issues and improve beam quality while reducing cost, complexity and size - all of which are key drivers of competitive advantage in almost every laser market sector.
M-Squared Lasers Ltd, who were recently named as Scotland's fastest-growing technology business in a UK-wide survey, is leading a team of seven European partners that has been granted 1.5M Euro (approx. £1.2M) to resolve the key problems associated with the power and brightness of bulk solid-state lasers using Conical Refraction (CR).
The HiCORE research will potentially lead to a whole new stream of world class laser products for use in a broad spectrum of applications wherever high brightness efficient lasers are used including industrial laser welding.
The work will enormously strengthen the leading EU position in the photonics sector and the economic impact of success will support the ongoing growth and development of the SME partners M-Squared Lasers (United Kingdom), Conerefringent Optics (Spain), Opteco and Partners (Bulgaria), and Time-Bandwidth Products (Switzerland).
The research performers in the project are headed by the University of Dundee (United Kingdom) and include the Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography (Bulgaria), and the University of Stuttgart (Germany) a leader in high power lasers for industrial processes.
The two-year project is funded by the European Commission’s FP7 Programme "Research for the Benefit of SMEs" (Small and Medium Enterprises), the objective of which is to strengthen the innovation capacity of European SMEs and their contribution to the development of new technology based products and markets by helping them outsource research, increase their research efforts, extend their networks, better exploit research results and acquire technological know how, bridging the gap in the innovation chain from idea to market through European level collaboration.
This programme's focus is on the outsourcing of research by SMEs to specialised 'RTD performers' (research service providers i.e. universities, research centres, other research performing companies etc.).
Dr Graeme Malcolm, the CEO of M-Squared Lasers said, "The HiCORE project is envisaged to develop leading new high power laser technology which will enable M-Squared to offer products with performance beyond anything available in today's market. M-Squared are delighted to be working with the leading research groups in Dundee, Sofia and Stuttgart which we have combined to form an extremely powerful research team for this project".
Professor Edik Rafailov, the leader of the Photonics and Nanoscience Group at the University of Dundee, said, "Ongoing close relationships with highly innovative companies such as M-Squared enable the university to translate the research results obtained in the lab into real world products, and this project is a great example of the synergies that arise from industrial collaboration. The technology being developed could change the rules in the laser sector of the photonics industry."
For more information see the project website: www.hicore.eu.com/
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
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University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
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E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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