This large-scale collaborative project will establish an internationally leading position for Europe in this strategically important field, substantially advancing the position of Europe in the science, application and production technologies of fibre lasers – the market share of which is expected to double by 2010 and again by 2013, increasing the market volume to £8 million Euros worldwide.

The consortium will develop innovative laser sources with intelligent beam delivery systems and dynamic beam manipulation, in continuous and pulsed kilowatt laser systems and ultra-short pulsed laser sources. It is hoped that the results will bring radical advances in four important application areas:

• Laser Materials Processing
• Health Care Delivery
• Cost-Effective Manufacturing of Solar Cells for Renewable Energy
• Manufacturing of next-generation integrated components with nanometre feature size.

The advantages of this are far reaching – from increasing speed and precision in laser materials processing such as welding; to medical treatment advances fields such as ophthalmology, acne and other skin conditions, and some types of cancer; to lowering production costs of solar cells for renewable energy generation.

Swansea University is collaborating with the University of Turin, Italy, Gooch and Housego, Perfors, IXFiber and various other companies, to work on a key part of the project – researching optical fibre materials that can carry new high power fibre lasers without degradation. Stefano explains:

“We need to look in to why the current glass materials we use to make optical fibres degrade over time under high power, and result in laser power reduction. We’ll then research whether new materials or developments to existing materials will be able to handle the power of the new strength beams.

“It is a really exciting project to work on, not least because this is the first fibre laser project that the University has been involved in, and because Swansea University will benefit from the advancements in technology, but also due to the opportunities in collaborating with universities and businesses across Europe.

“The businesses that we work with will benefit from the new technology – we will be working with them to assist them in developing new fibres to carry the energy.”

In short, the project will improve the all-round performance of a number of different types of fibre laser.  LIFT will enable a greater market share for existing applications, create new areas of exploitation for manufacturing, and build a European network of components’ suppliers and laser system manufacturers, something which Stefano is very proud of:

“LIFT will start a new generation of research opportunities across the University, and give us links with companies that can only benefit the work of researchers and students alike.”

For further information on LIFT visit www.lift-project.eu.