The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) recently granted to FASTNET, a collaborative project between Microsoft and the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton.
Professor Graham Reed, Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) and Co-Investigator of the Future Photonics Hub, recently received the Sir Frank Whittle medal, one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s (RAEng) highest accolades.
In 2017, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) launched the Prosperity Partnership programme, an initiative aimed at fostering collaboration between academia and industry.
Optica’s Optics & Photonics News (OPN) Magazine recently featured ground-breaking research from the Nanophotonics & Metamaterials Group at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC). The group is led by Professor Nikolay Zheludev, one of the founding figures in the field.
The European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) was held in Glasgow this year. The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), based at the University of Southampton, had a strong presence at the conference, bringing many of its leading academics and showcasing two flagship programmes: the Future Photonics Hub and CORNERSTONE.
Following the success of last year's inaugural light trail, Sir Harold Hillier Gardens will once again open its gates after dark. The 180-acre arboretum site will be transformed with a series of light art installations by international artists and leading designers.
Semiconductors are essential ingredients of almost every electronic and photonic device on the planet. They are used in communications infrastructure, artificial intelligence, robotics, healthcare, military technology, quantum and cloud computing, and everyday consumer devices such as white goods and smart meters.
The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have recently recruited Dr. Dong Yang Wang through the University of Southampton’s highly competitive Anniversary Fellowship Scheme. The scheme was launched in 2022 in support of the University Strategy and to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the University’s Royal Charter.
Professor Graham Reed, Deputy Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) and Co-Investigator of the Future Photonics Hub, has been awarded the 2023 SPIE Gold Medal, their highest honour. It has been awarded in recognition of his sustained and ongoing leadership in the silicon photonics field, particularly in the area of silicon photonics modulators, mid-IR silicon photonics, and integrated lidar.
Sir David Payne, Principal Investigator of the Future Photonics Hub and Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) has been awarded a major international prize in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Future Photonics Hub has played a significant role in growing the photonics sector in the UK and Lumenisity is one of its greatest success stories.
In July, representatives of the Future Photonics Hub, along with 24 other separate organisations, visited Westminster with the aim of improving government engagement with photonics.
Researchers from the Hub – and those connected with it – met in Oxfordshire in June for the Future Photonics Hub’s Technical AGM. This internal event brought together the two Hub institutes – the Universities of Southampton and Sheffield – for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Southampton City Council asked the University to provide half-termly educational activities for Afghan refugees who had newly arrived in the country.
The Future Photonics Hub’s first Industry Day since the pandemic was a resounding success with nearly 150 delegates coming together to discover and influence the future of the photonics innovation landscape.
Researchers at the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre and the National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS) are developing a new generation of smart, low-cost optical sensors capable of detecting greenhouse gases and pollutants in our oceans. The technology is set to revolutionise ocean monitoring techniques and will enable scientists to answer urgent questions about global warming processes for the first time.
Leaders from industry and academia came together to discuss current photonics issues at Photonex and Vacuum Technologies, SPIE’s annual exhibition and events programme which took place in Glasgow on 29–30 September 2021. The Hub supported two panel discussions, inviting key members of the UK’s innovation ecosystem and industry representatives to tackle the question: The UK Photonics Innovation Chain: What Can We Do Better?
With a degree in laser physics and optoelectronics and a 20-year career as a physics teacher, it’s no surprise that Carol Monaghan, MP for Glasgow North West, has a special interest in photonics. A champion for the photonics sector in Westminster, she established the All-party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Photonics and Quantum and is keen to see the realisation of the huge environmental and economic potential of optical technologies.
Nanofabrication, is fabrication on a nanoscale, making very small photonics devices which are light, consume less power and are faster than conventional electronic devices. We fabricate silicon photonics chips with tiny wave guides that have a cross-section a thousand times less than that of a human hair.
The function of the Hub is to use the incredible facilities and expertise in Southampton and Sheffield to de-risk ideas and show how new technologies can be made reproducibly, reliably and cheaply.
You’ll find photonics in your phone, your TV and even in the cameras that recorded this film. Integrated photonics is the idea of taking optical devices like lasers, LEDs or solar cells and intimately integrating them with electronics to create more complex devices.
Fibre lasers are having a profound impact on manufacturing. The Future Photonics Hub is developing innovative technologies that will be used in the digital manufacturing era. The unique properties of these novel lasers are resulting in a 30% increase in speed, using half the power.
Professor Jon Heffernan is the Deputy Director of the Future Photonics Hub and leads the National Epitaxy Facility, based at the University of Sheffield, which is pioneering the development and commercialisation of world leading quantum science and technology based on semiconductor quantum dots.
Professor David Richardson has been at the forefront of photonics research for the past 30 years. He has led various large collaborative optical communications research programmes in the UK and abroad...
As an 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.
Callum Littlejohns is the coordinator of the CORNERSTONE programme, a silicon photonics rapid prototyping fabrication service based at the University of Southampton.
In 2010, Dr Ali Masoudi embarked on his PhD at the University of Southampton and devised a distributed acoustic sensor (DAS), which can measure vibration in real-time along a fibre optic cable.
Dame Frances Saunders has been appointed the Chair of the Future Photonics Hub Advisory Board.
Our £1 million Photonics Innovation Fund is enabling us to build a national network of academic partners, equipped to respond to emerging industrial challenges.
On 11th November, the UK Government published its long-awaited National Security and Investment Bill setting out the Government’s proposals. We want to...
Academics from The Future Photonics Hub showcased their leading research in photonics manufacturing at a recent premier UK photonics exhibition – SPIE Photonex...
The Future Photonics Hub, representing the University of Southampton is delighted to be included as one of the core framework partners in...
Photonics students and researchers from the University of Southampton ran Phablabs photonics workshops that helped young people build smart lamps, indoor greenhouses...
The Photonics Leadership Group 2019 update shows the increasing value of light-based technology to the UK economy. The Future Photonics Hub, based...
Researchers from the University of Southampton demonstrated the science of light through a pop-up ‘Photon Shop’ at the Light Up Poole! Art Festival...