
Institute of Photonics Photonic Materials & Devices
This group is led by Professor Martin Dawson, and presently consists of around 18 members of staff and students.
Since 2002 the group has been fabricating gallium-nitride (GaN) micro-LEDs. The research is motivated by the potential use of these high-density arrays of micro-structured light-emitters in instrumentation and scientific applications.
We have fabricated arrays of micro-disk, micro-ring and micro-stripe devices at wavelengths from the ultraviolet (370nm) to green (540nm), and operated them in parallel-addressed (all elements on) and matrix-addressed (individually addressable) formats. These devices are being explored for use in:
- microscopy (sectioned imaging, fluorescence lifetime imaging)
- lab-on-chip screening
- genechip synthesis
- light-patterned electrodes
- mask-free lithography]
- hybrid organic/inorganic LEDs
The group has been involved in several large multi-partner, multi-disciplinary grants, and is currently involved in the "Ultra-parallel Visible Light Communcations" (UPVLC) project, an ambitious £4.6 million project which will explore the transformative technology of communications in an imaginative and foresighted way.
Our key research interests
Who we work with
The team collaborates with a wide range of academic and industrial partners around the world.
At present our group is part of a major EPSRC-funded project, Ultra-parallel visible light communications (UP-VLC), along with the following collaborators:
- The University of Edinburgh: Prof. Harald Haas and Dr. Robert K. Henderson groups
- The University of Cambridge: Centre for Photonics Systems, Prof. Ian White and Prof. Richard Penty.
- The University of St. Andrews: Prof. Ifor Samuel group
- The University of Oxford: Prof. Dominic O'Brien group
- The University of Glasgow: Dr. Tony Kelly group (affiliate partner)
Other major academic partners, past and present, include:
- Imperial College
- Sheffield University
- Heriot-Watt University
- University of Glasgow
- University of St. Andrews
- Tampere University of Technology (Finland)
- Chalmers University
- TU-Berlin
- University of Michigan
- NRC Canada
- University of Kaiserslautern
- Peking University China,
- Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Major industrial partners include/have included:
- IQE Ltd
- Samsung
- STS Ltd
- BTG plc
- Coherent
- Osram
- Infineon
- Agilent
- Kamelian Ltd