Laser Technologies for Future Manufacturing

光子学使现代制造业发生了革命性的变化。激光是这场革命的核心，因为它们继续改变快速变化的制造业格局。光子学制造业每年对英国经济的贡献为105亿英镑，年增长率约为8.5%，直接就业人数超过7万人。目前，英国光子学出口在英国制造业中排名第四，仅次于汽车、航空航天和机械出口。更重要的是，英国光子学出口占其产出的75%以上，而英国制造业的平均水平只有34%。激光技术尤其支撑着英国航空航天、汽车、电子、制药和医疗保健工程领域的许多领先行业。四十多年来，南安普顿大学的光电子研究中心一直处于光子学研究的前沿。它在光纤、激光器、波导、器件和光电子材料方面有着悠久而完善的记录，促进了创新、企业和跨界多学科活动。由南安普顿光电研究中心分拆出来的公司生产的先进光纤和激光子系统出口到世界各地。与英国光子学行业紧密合作，我们的互联和高度协同的团队将最佳地将不同的激光技术结合到具有软件驱动性能的小型化，高效，低成本，敏捷和可重构的智能激光系统的混合平台中。这是唯一可能的，因为可控，稳定和鲁棒，全固体性质的导波激光器。智能激光器看起来就像它的电子等价物——一个小的密封免维护外壳，具有完全控制的输出，可以响应工件的变化。激光知道它正在加工什么材料，过程如何发展以及何时完成。它能够适应材料的变化，它们的形状，反射率，厚度和方向。这导致了新的工具，使创新的制造工艺，是提高竞争力的关键在重要的制造业部门。最后，在该平台内开发的先进激光技术预计将在制造领域之外产生更广泛的影响，例如传感、医疗保健和医疗部门，以及国土安全，有助于建立重要的激光主权能力。

Modern manufacturing has been revolutionised by photonics. Lasers are central to this revolution, as they continue to transform the fast-changing manufacturing landscape. Photonics manufacturing represents an industry worth £10.5bn per annum to the UK economy, growing at about 8.5% annually and directly employing more than 70,000 people. UK Photonics exports are currently the 4th largest by value of any UK manufacturing sector, following automotive, aerospace and machinery exports. More importantly, UK Photonics exports more than 75% of its output relative to the UK manufacturing average of only 34%. Laser technology in particular underpins a number of leading UK industries in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare engineering sectors. Over four decades, the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton has maintained a position at the forefront of photonics research. Its long and well-established track record in fibres, lasers, waveguides, devices, and optoelectronic materials has fostered innovation, enterprise, and cross-boundary multi-disciplinary activities. Advanced fibres and laser sub-systems, manufactured in Southampton by companies spun-out from the Optoelectronics Research Centre, are exported worldwide.Working closely with UK photonics industry, our interconnected and highly synergetic group will optimally combine different laser technologies into hybrid platforms for miniaturised, efficient, low-cost, agile and reconfigurable smart laser systems with software-driven performance. This is only possible because of the controllable, stable and robust, all-solid state nature of guided-wave lasers. A smart laser looks like its electronic equivalent - a single small sealed maintenance-free enclosure with a fully controlled output that is responsive to changes in the workpiece. The laser knows what material it is processing, how the process is developing and when it is finished. It is able to adapt to changes in the materials, their shape, reflectivity, thickness and orientation. This leads to new tools that enable innovative manufacturing processes that are critical in increasing competitiveness in important manufacturing sectors. Finally, the advanced laser technologies developed within this platform are expected to have a wider impact outside the manufacturing arena, in areas such as sensing, healthcare, and the medical sectors, as well as homeland security helping to establish an important laser sovereign capability.