Manufacturing – Applied Optics and Photonics

Lasers are ideal tools for highly controllable modification of the structure and/or functionality of a surface. We work on a wide range of laser surface modification processes, including engraving; marking; micro-machining; polishing; friction modification; and super hydrophobicity, for applications ranging from medical implants to ship engine parts.

Ultra-Fast lasers, producing pulses in the femto- and pico-second range, allow us to access manufacturing regimes inaccessible by any other technique. This gives the ability to “cold process” materials with problematic thermal properties as well as to access non-linear phenomena to process materials from the inside out. Our interests include machining glasses, dissimilar material welding, and volumetric modification.

Current Projects:

Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC)

Manufacturing research in AOP underpins aspects of the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC) that assists companies in the translation of medical device concepts to commercial products.

Prof Duncan Hand is Director of the MDMC

MDMC Website

Microtex

The EPSRC Research and Partnership Hub in Microscale Science and Technology to Accelerate Therapeutic Innovation.

A collaboration involving the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, and the University of Bath, MicroTex is focused on the pursuit of advanced technologies to transform the development of new therapies for infections and inflammation – conditions that rank among the leading causes of illness and death worldwide.