Centre for Applied Photonics
UK's continuing participation in Horizon Europe
The UK is an Associated Country in Horizon Europe and can participate, and lead, in projects.
Fraunhofer CAP is pleased to help form consortia, working often with UK industrial, academic and RTO partners. We can also connect you to the broad Fraunhofer network and the many Institutes and Centres in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and Austria to form consortia.
The European Commission has produced a FAQ sheet to address any questions, and confirm UK particpiation.
Fraunhofer CAP has been an active partner in winning several EU Projects including:
MiniMods
Minaturising diagnositics and frequency-conversion modules for ultrafast lasers.
The European Consortium MINIMODS has been granted €1.5 million for a project aimed at developing miniaturized laser diagnostics tools and frequency conversion modules that are small enough to be integrated directly into the optical heads of Ultrafast lasers and synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillators.
The results of the MINIMODS Project will enormously strengthen the leading position of Europe in the photonics sector; the economic impact of success can potentially lead to a whole new stream of World Class laser systems for use in Broad Spectrum of Applications wherever high reliability ultrafast lasers and resonators are used. The impact can be anticipated in Metrology, Manufacturing (materials processing and micromachining), security (sensing and imaging), health (imaging, diagnostics and therapy) and telecommunications.
The SME Partner M-Squared Lasers will lead the consortium and perform the role of project coordinator with full support of the project consortium that comprises of a group of innovative SMEs and Research Institution. The Project was conceived by the SME Partners.
The MINMODS Project is made up of six partners:
including four Commercial
- M Squared,
- Time-Bandwidth Products,
- Laseroptik &
- Radiantis
and two Research Partners
- University of Warsaw &
- Fraunhofer UK Research
Metrocomb
The research necessary to extend the application areas of femtosecond frequency combs through the development of compact, robust, low-cost, commercially-exploitable sources is now possible; taking advantage of the fact that ultrafast laser pulses of femtosecond widths, separated by nanoseconds, manifest themselves as a phase-coherent comb of frequencies spread over a wide spectral band. Furthermore, the development of femtosecond frequency combs in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and beyond offers enormous opportunities for exploitation in broad spectrum detection and metrology. Robust industrial laser sources such as those produced by the SME supply chain grouping brought together in this proposal can be used by the leading research groups in this consortium to develop frequency comb based spectroscopy systems offering unprecedented detection sensitivity and measurement accuracy. Moreover, if the wavelength range of the comb sources can be extended to cover the mid-IR region then such a source would be ideal for coherent Fourier-transform spectroscopy in the absorption-rich mid-IR 'molecular fingerprint' region delivering real-time acquisition of molecular spectra and real-time imaging with chemical identification for applications in large fast-growing global markets including environmental monitoring, real-time analysis of chemical /bio threats and explosives, trace molecular detection, and medical breath analysis. The project will be led by the SME group coordinated by M-Squared Lasers and produce IP which can be exploited across the supply chain covering optics, crystals, lasers and OPOs.
CHEQUERS – Portable, multiband MIR-sensor platform for safety and security
2015 to 2018, €3.35M
In this proposal we describe a timely and disruptive solution to the long-standing and vexing problem of the rapid stand-off detection of explosive, toxic or otherwise hazardous materials which are present within potential- or post-terrorist attack or industrial accident sites. We will achieve this by realising highly sensitive, state-of-the-art handheld and tripod-mounted instruments based upon active hyperspectral imaging and detection. These will exploit the deep infrared molecular fingerprint waveband region, where these hazardous compounds exhibit their strongest and most distinctive optical absorption features. Crucially, by keeping our goal fixed on the needs of the end-user, we will realise high-TRL devices which are cost-effective, lightweight and highly utile. Within the lifetime of this project, these will ready for evaluation in end-use scenarios (as opposed to mere laboratory-based demonstration). Our consortium is uniquely placed to prosecute this programme as is it comprises world leading workers in every technology upon which this solution depends, from quantum-cascade laser source, MEMS and detector growth expertise to advanced imaging, signals processing and device integration. Once refined, the technology we will pioneer will be evaluated by civil security partners who will implement them in a number of likely end-use scenarios, thus proving the potency and utility of our technology.
Project partners are:
- M Squared Lasers Ltd, UK
- Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics CAP, UK
- Fraunhofer IAF, DE
- Fraunhofer IPMS, DE
- Vigo System, PL
- Bundeskriminalamt, DE
NovIRLas – Novel IR-laser source for active spectroscopy and medical applications 2014 to 2016, €1.3M
EUREKA Eurostars project, funded by Innovate UK and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
NovIRLas aims to develop a novel hybrid semiconductor-dielectric pump laser to realise a source of high-power and tunability in the 2 µm and molecular fingerprint waveband enabling the next generation of laser systems for stand-off chemical detection, medical surgery and material processing. Within this project, Fraunhofer IAF develops high-power semiconductor disk laser (SDL) within the 1.9 to 2.5 µm wavelength range, which is the starting point for the successive laser development at the project partner.
Project partners are:
- M squared Lasers limited, UK
- LISA laser products OHG, Germany
- Fraunhofer IAF, Germany
- Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics, UK