Why do a PhD at the Optoelectronics Research Centre?
What it’s like to do a PhD at the ORC
All PhD projects:
Supervisors: Prof Andy Clarkson and Dr Jacob Mackenzie
Two-micron fibre laser technology has the potential to yield a wealth of new applications in areas such as industrial laser processing, medicine, defence and optical communications. Moreover, significant power scaling advantages can be gained by moving from traditional ytterbium-doped fibre lasers operating in the one-micron band to the two-micron band. The main focus of this project will be to create a world leading power-scalable two-micron fibre laser platform based on thulium and holmium-doped fibres for operation in continuous-wave and pulsed regimes. The research programme will study the physics of thulium and holmium doped fibre gain media to formulate new strategies for scaling laser output power whilst simultaneously achieving high efficiency and good beam quality. Thulium and holmium doped glasses offer access to a wide range of wavelengths in the two-micron band, so an important aspect of the programme will be to develop lasers with flexibility in operating wavelength driven by the needs of emerging applications in areas such as medicine and materials processing. Laser architectures that are compatible with coherent beam combination to allow scaling beyond the fundamental limits of a single fibre will be a main theme. Finally, the project will consider a range of novel applications made possible by the improved laser performance.
A fully funded PhD place on this project is available for UK applicants supported by an EPSRC CASE Studentship. The project will involve close collaboration with one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high power fibre for applications in defence and security (Leonardo based in the UK). The studentship comes with an enhanced stipend (including an additional industrial bursary) of £23,000 (tax-free) with fees paid and very generous funding to support travel to international conferences. Applicants should have a first class or a good upper-second class degree (or the equivalent) in physics, engineering or a related discipline.
Supervisors: Prof Andy Clarkson and Dr Jacob Mackenzie
Scaling laser power in the visible and ultraviolet (UV) bands remains as one of the most significant challenges facing laser scientists, motivated by the needs of a growing number of applications in areas such laser processing of materials, medicine, sensing and defence. Traditional methods for accessing this wavelength regime are not compatible with operation at high power levels and so a different approach is needed. This project will investigate a new strategy for generating kilowatt-class laser power in the visible band and >100 W in the UV band by combining the power-scaling advantages of cladding-pumped fibre lasers in the near-infrared band with novel nonlinear frequency conversion schemes. The approach offers the prospect of unprecedented wavelength coverage across the entire visible and UV wavelength bands at very high power levels and with high overall efficiency. The project will involve a detailed study into the physics of frequency-converted fibre lasers operated at very high power levels to establish a power scaling strategy and to determine the fundamental limits. The overall ambition of the project will be a new generation of visible and UV lasers boasting levels of performance well beyond the current state-of-the-art for use in industrial laser processing.
A fully funded PhD place on this project is available for UK applicants supported by an EPSRC CASE Studentship. The project will involve close collaboration with one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high power visible solid-state lasers (Laser Quantum (part of Novanta) based in the UK). The studentship comes with an enhanced stipend (including an additional industrial bursary) of £23,000 (tax-free) with fees paid, and very generous funding to support travel to international conferences. Applicants should have a first class or a good upper-second class degree (or the equivalent) in physics, engineering or a related discipline.
Supervisors: Prof Andy Clarkson and Dr Jacob Mackenzie
A fully funded PhD project with a stipend of £23,600 (tax-free) p.a. will contribute to a major Ministry of Defence (MoD) research programme intended to develop generation after next technologies for applications in defence and security. This project will be co-funded by Leonardo UK Ltd.
Fibre lasers have become the laser technology of choice for applications requiring high power, good beam quality and high efficiency. This has revolutionised industrial processing of materials and is one of the enabling technologies in emerging applications in defence and security. To date, much of the effort has focussed on ytterbium doped fibre lasers operating in the one-micron wavelength band, but this technology is now approaching the fundamental limits. Thulium (Tm) doped fibre lasers operate in the two-micron band and have numerous potential advantages from an applications perspective and for operation at high power levels. Thus, the goal of this project is to explore the power scaling limits of Tm doped fibre laser and amplifiers. Our approach will investigate radically different fibre and laser designs with the ambition of reaching performance levels that go beyond the current state-of-the-art to benefit a wide range of applications.
The plan is to recruit a PhD candidate to undertake this project and be part of a new MoD/EPSRC Energy Transfer Technology Skills and Training (S&T) Hub. The main aim of the S&T Hub is to train the next generation of leaders in energy transfer technologies relevant for defence and other related applications. The Hub is supported by MoD, Dstl, and UK companies working in the defence and security sector.
The student will be based at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC, University of Southampton) and will be part of cohort of 12 PhD students across a number of UK institutions. The Skills and Training Hub will run online and face-to-face activities to facilitate cohort building and group learning exercises throughout the PhD programme. The project will involve close collaboration with our industrial partner (Leonardo UK Ltd, based in Edinburgh). Leonardo will contribute to PhD supervision by providing a placement opportunity and access to facilities to complement those at the ORC.
Supervisors: Prof Andy Clarkson and Dr Jacob Mackenzie
The project is to contribute to a major Ministry of Defence (MoD) research programme intended to develop generation after next technologies for applications in defence and security.
The project will have two main themes. The first explores coherent beam combination as a flexible way to increase laser power well beyond the fundamental limits of a single laser source. The emphasis of this work will be to investigate an all-fibre approach to eliminate (or reduce) the need for alignment-sensitive free-space optical components (e.g. lenses, mirrors). The second theme explores whether beams with tailored profiles in terms of phase, intensity and polarisation can offer advantages in terms of atmospheric propagation and overall effect. For example, it is well-known that radially-polarised beams can yield significant benefits in industrial laser processing due to enhanced absorption compared to unpolarised beams. Similarly, it has also been suggested that beams with orbital angular momentum are more resistant to beam distorting effects. These represent two examples of where beams with non-traditional Gaussian profiles may offer benefits. Furthermore, coherent beam combination offers the means to generate beams with properties tailored as desired and the means to vary these dynamically for different scenarios.
The plan is to recruit a PhD candidate to undertake this project and be part of a new MoD/EPSRC Energy Transfer Technology Skills and Training (S&T) Hub. The main aim of the S&T Hub is to train the next generation of leaders in energy transfer technologies relevant for defence and other related applications. The Hub is supported by MoD, Dstl, and UK companies working in the defence and security sector.
The student will be based at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC, University of Southampton) and will be part of cohort of 12 PhD students across a number of UK institutions. The Skills and Training Hub will run online and face-to-face activities to facilitate cohort building and group learning exercises throughout the PhD programme. The project will involve close collaboration with our industrial partner (Dstl). Dstl will contribute to PhD supervision by providing a placement opportunity and access to facilities to complement those at the ORC.