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A computer program, CASTEP, has been developed to use quantum mechanics to calculate the structure and properties of materials. The code is distributed commercially via Accelrys Inc. with sales, for example, in the automotive, electronics and pharmaceutical industries in excess of £1m per year since 1998, accelerating to over £2.5m per year recently and total sales (late 2012) exceeding $30m. Commercial applications include designing new battery materials and electrodes to improve the performance of electric cars (Toyota), integrating organic electronic materials for light-weight flexible displays (Sony), and developing new catalysts for hydrogen-powered fuel cells (Johnson-Matthey).
CASTEP is a parameter-free and predictive quantum mechanical atomistic simulation code developed by Professor Payne in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge. CASTEP has been sold commercially by Accelrys since 1995, with more than 800 industrial customers using the package. As part of Accelrys' Materials Studio, it can be used by non-experts to determine a wide range of physical and chemical properties of materials. Companies can thus perform `virtual experiments' using CASTEP. As quantum mechanical simulations can be cheaper and more flexible than experiments, CASTEP invariably reduces costs and accelerates product development.
The High Performance Computing (HPC) application code HELIUM, developed at Queen's University Belfast to assist the development of attosecond technology, has impacted on the provision of public services through guiding procurement and acceptance testing of the high-performance computer facility HECToR. This facility was funded by UK Government with a total expenditure of £113M during 2007 - 2013. The HELIUM code was used for procurement and acceptance testing for the initial HECToR service in 2007 (Phase 1, 11k cores), and its upgrades in 2009 (Phase 2a, 22k cores), 2010 (Phase 2b, 44k cores) and 2011 (Phase 3, 90k cores). The HELIUM code was particularly invaluable in demonstrating that the Phase 2b and Phase 3 systems perform correctly at pre-agreed performance levels, since this code can be adapted to run for several hours over >80k cores.
Collaborative research between Durham Physics and Industry showed that a serendipitously discovered new material had unique, pressure sensitive conduction properties which were derived from quantum tunnelling. This research, published in 2005, is cited as one of the top 25 papers in that Journal for that year. Peratech was set up to commercialise this material for applications including switches and mobile phones as the pressure sensitivity gives a new dimension to scale the response. This company now employs 25 people, has an annual turnover of £3M and won the 2012 Queens award for Enterprise in the innovation category.
A software package called CPO has been developed that simulates the motion of charged particles in electromagnetic fields. More than 200 benchmark tests have established CPO as the gold standard in low-energy charged-particle optics. A spin-off company was formed to market CPO, [text removed for publication]
Research at the University of Cambridge, Department of Physics on sensitive techniques for measurements of magnetic and electrical properties of materials led to the selection of Dr Michael Sutherland as an expert witness in a series of major police investigations involving fraudulent bomb detecting equipment. Scientific evidence Dr Sutherland presented in court was key in securing guilty verdicts, leading to the breakup in 2013 of several international fraud rings with combined revenue in excess of £70 million. This criminal activity had caused significant damage to the reputation of the UK in Iraq and elsewhere.
Our research on semiconductor materials and devices has led to the establishment by e2v Technologies of a combined manufacturing, research and development facility within the School of Physics and Astronomy. We have adapted and transferred device simulation software to e2v, and have provided epitaxially-grown semiconductors and access to fabrication facilities which have been used in their manufacturing processes. Devices fabricated within the facility, which was opened in 2011, have generated sales of £7M for e2v. This initiative has also led to shifts in the investment priorities of e2v, and mitigated risks to the company arising from import restrictions associated with the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
High Performance Computing (HPC) is a key element in our research. The Particle Physics Group has accumulated expertise in the development and optimisation of coding paradigms for specific supercomputer hardware. Our codes are deployed on supercomputers around the world, producing high-profile research results. We have developed a simulation environment, BSMBench, that is, on the one hand, flexible enough to run on major supercomputer platforms and, on the other hand, pushes supercomputers to their limits. These codes are used by IBM and Fujitsu Siemens for benchmarking their large installations and mainframes. The third party company BSMBench Ltd has commercialised the usage of our codes for analysing and optimising HPC systems of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Interdisciplinary research on a new class of organo-metallic light emitting polymers showed that they could produce white light very efficiently. A consortium of the University and Industry (predominantly Thorn Lighting, the largest lighting manufacturing employer in the North East) developed and patented these into a viable alternative to mercury vapour fluorescent lights with a £4.3M grant from the DTI with matched funding from industry. The companies are investing in scaling this up to a full commercial supply chain, supported by a £4M grant from the Technology Strategy Board. The success of the project helped BIS secure £20.5M to support Plastic Electronics in the UK, creating 26 jobs, and was cited as a factor in the Thorn decision not to close down its North East site, safeguarding 600 jobs.
Research in the Microelectronics Group of the Cavendish Laboratory in the area of single-electron nanoelectronics, quantum computing and spintronics has been exploited by Hitachi, one of world's leading microelectronics companies. Research breakthroughs made in the Cavendish have defined Hitachi's R&D directions in quantum computing and spintronics, led to several Hitachi product developments and influenced senior Hitachi strategic decision makers regarding the future of computing.