RESEARCH AT Dundee University could help to create cheaper, more efficient lasers, writes Grant Smith, education reporter.
The university is a partner in a European project called HiCORE that has been granted £1.2 million to develop conical refraction lasers, which could have a wide range of industrial applications such as welding.
M-Squared Lasers, one of Scotland’s fastest growing technology companies, is also involved in the two-year project, as are academic institutions in Germany and Bulgaria.
Professor Edik Rafailov, the leader of the photonics and nanoscience group at Dundee, said: “Ongoing close relationships with highly innovative companies such as M-Squared enable the university to translate the research results obtained in the lab into real world products.
Conical refraction lasers offer a novel way to achieve high efficiency, deal with heat management issues and improve beam quality while reducing cost, complexity and size.