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Implementation of photonic quasi-crystals on light emitting diodes (LEDs) can produce more light using less energy. This technology was brought to the global market via the successful commercialisation of laboratory devices derived from research in nanophotonics and the subsequent development of photonic quasi-crystals by a multi-disciplinary team from the University of Southampton. The intellectual property of the technology was acquired and adopted in 2008 by Luxtaltek Corporation, a global manufacturer of LEDs. In the period 2008-2012 Luxtaltek Corporation, made total profits of £35 million utilising the photonic quasi-crystal LED technology, employing more than 300 people in its production facilities.
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.
Impact: Economic gains
PHYESTA research has led to the setting up of a company now known as ForthDD. Since 2008 it has increased its annual revenue by more than 25% to around US $5M, and its global workforce from 25 to 35. It has released new products directly underpinned by PHYESTA research as recently as October 2012.
Significance:
A consortium involving PHYESTA staff in collaboration with Edinburgh's School of Engineering and five industrial partners realised the world's first high-resolution ferroelectric liquid crystal over silicon (FLCOS) microdisplay. This digital display attracted investment from the UK, Taiwan, and USA of over $40m, and was taken forward to production by MicroPix, MicroVue, and Forth Dimension Displays.
Reach:
ForthDD now has offices in Valencia, USA, and Berlin, Germany. The company designs, develops and manufactures single chip microdisplays used in the demanding near to eye (NTE) training and simulation systems, HD video camera viewfinders, medical imaging systems and virtual reality and head-mounted displays.
Beneficiaries:
ForthDD, its customers and business partners (e.g. in the medical imaging sector).
Attribution: This work was led within PHYESTA by Professor David Vass involving PHYESTA and done in collaboration with Edinburgh's School of Engineering.
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.
216 million LCD-TVs were sold in 2012 many of which incorporate liquid crystals invented in Hull. Research on the design, synthesis and evaluation of liquid crystals of negative dielectric anisotropy and the formulation of liquid crystalline mixtures incorporating them enabled the successful commercialisation of two types of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), i.e., Vertically Aligned Nematic (VAN)-LCDs for televisions, desktop monitors and laptop computers and Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals on Silicon (F-LCOS) microdisplays used in head-mounted displays for training simulators, computer games and in camera viewfinders. Kingston Chemicals Limited, a spinout from the University of Hull, supplies ferroelectric liquid crystals to LCD manufacturers.
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.
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.
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.
Research on vapour growth of semiconductor compounds led to a key breakthrough in growing large crystals which form the basis for sensitive X-and gamma-ray detectors. The process was commercialised by a Durham University spin-out company, Kromek Ltd., which floated on AIM at £55M and has over 100 employees in the UK and USA. The X-ray detectors are in use in Kromek's security systems for screening liquids at airports, significantly reducing restrictions on duty free goods. This application won the $400,000 international prize in the 2009 Global Security Challenge. The company also markets gamma-ray detectors for nuclear isotope identification. These have won contracts totalling $7.5M from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency and are in use at Fukushima.
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.