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Covesion, the company spun out of the University of Southampton's research into materials for use in high-powered lasers, has grown into a multi-million pound business that has created high-technology jobs, attracted more than £1 million in US investment and won UK export orders around the world. Covesion's nonlinear crystals are used by the world's leading companies and research institutes in cutting edge applications that include fibre lasers, medical imaging, aircraft anti-missile defences, display projectors and the remote sensing of airborne hazardous materials. The global value of Covesion-enabled operations since the company's inception in 2009 is estimated to be in excess of US$100 million.
Micropix were formed in 1997 as a result of ERPE research (1993-08) into liquid crystal microdisplays. Following a major investment in 2004 the company was re-branded as Forth Dimension Displays (ForthDD).
Due to its unique microdisplay technology, based on the ERPE underpinning research, the ForthDD commercial activity has, since 2008, increased its annual revenue by more than 25% to around $5M and, over the same period, has increased its global workforce from 25 to 35 with exports to 15 countries.
Kopin Corporation, the world's largest producer of microdisplays, acquired ForthDD in 2011 for $11M.
Covesion, a company that was spun out of the University of Southampton, focuses on research and development of high-value engineered nonlinear crystal materials, that find widespread use in the laser, defence and display sectors. The impacts of their work fall under the headings of economic, via job creation and investment, health, through application of their products in medical imaging, and the environment, via detection of airborne pollutants and remote sensing. The company is now a multi-million pound business that has attracted more than £1m in US investment and won UK export orders around the world. The global value of Covesion-enabled commerce since the company's inception in 2009 is estimated to be in excess of US$100m.
The manipulation of electromagnetic radiation using novel materials by physicists at the University of Exeter has given rise to new technologies for military stealth applications, anti-counterfeiting measures and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) of pharmaceuticals, machinery and perishable goods. The research findings increased the global competitiveness of FTSE 250 defence and security company QinetiQ, driving innovation in its work with the MoD and leading to the creation of a successful spin-out, Omni-ID, that is meeting demand in the high-growth RFID market. Exeter's research underpinned the EPSRC decision to award the University and QinetiQ £3.2m to exploit applications of their patented technology.
Thin-film optical filter research at the University of Reading is a unique and enabling technology that permits astronomers and meteorologists to gather data leading to increased understanding of atmospheric and astrophysical phenomena. Infrared filters are the key optical components in many satellite telescopes for Earth observation, planetary research probes and infrared astronomy. They form the eyes of the instrument to separate light into wavebands in order to measure temperature, gas composition, water vapour, dust clouds and aerosols. This data is used to generate accurate atmospheric and environmental circulation models for global climate studies, and measure properties of the universe for stellar and planetary formation theories.
Natural photonics research by Professor Pete Vukusic at the University of Exeter was responsible for shaping the successful global communications strategy of Bausch & Lomb, a world-leading supplier of eye health products. Drawing on Vukusic's studies into bio-inspiration, Bausch & Lomb built its core brand messaging for a major new lens product around the ability of nature to inspire technological breakthroughs. Outreach campaigns targeting media and optometry professionals took Vukusic's research to an international audience, raising wider public awareness of the concept of bio-inspiration. Bausch & Lomb attributed their subsequent rapid sales growth to Vukusic's work.
A public engagement campaign based around 15 years of natural photonics research at Exeter University succeeded in enthusing school-age children in a science that was suffering declining levels of interest. Professor Pete Vukusic gave a series of lectures that brought the science of light and colour to life for 17,000 students and 1,500 teachers across the UK, Ireland and Africa, and subsequently a global audience of thousands via YouTube. His work played a central role in the Institute of Physics' efforts to promote the value of physics in the UK and overseas, contributing to a marked rise in the number of students taking physics A-level. In 2013, Vukusic was awarded the distinguished Royal Society Kohn Award for Excellence in Engaging the Public with Science.
Invented at the University of Oxford, an instrument for measuring the temporal shape of ultrashort laser pulses has delivered new capabilities for users and manufacturers of short-pulse lasers. The device, the LX SPIDER, is smaller, cheaper and more sensitive than its predecessor. Its impact has been realised by licensing patented technology to APE GmbH, who brought the LX SPIDER to market in 2008. Customers are from industrial and research institutions globally and the device has brought benefits to users in a variety of sectors including materials processing and biomedical diagnostics. It is also used by manufacturers of pulsed lasers in the specification, verification and installation of their laser products.
This research has led to the creation of new business sectors in laser development for medical and healthcare applications, which has enabled the creation of a world-wide market worth US$96 million in 2011, and a local spin-out, Fianium Ltd, which now has more than 50 employees and an annual turnover of around £10 million. Exploiting a radically new optical component invented at the University of Southampton, the microstructured optical fibre (MOF), this research has led to economic benefit through the creation of hundreds of jobs worldwide, and enabled the development of new diagnostic and medical technologies.
This University of Manchester research underpins UK industry's global position in millimetre- wave imaging and ultra-high-precision sensing. These are key technologies in a range of industrial, medical and consumer electronics applications. The devices and methods developed by the research team are now used by a range of companies leading to economic impacts for the UK in strong export markets. In this case study we provide examples of impacts that support commercial sales in excess of £300m by UK SME and FTSE-listed companies in three sectors: automotive radar (e2v), terahertz imaging (TeraView), and linear encoders (Renishaw PLC).