Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage

The convergence of photonics, electronics and advanced materials facilitated by nanofabrication is an exciting research environment. Our objective is the science and engineering to provide highly manufacturable photonic integration technologies relevant to a wide spectrum of end-users - from data storage, to telecommunications, to biophotonics.

To increase the capacity of hard disk drives for 'cloud' computing, new technology is required. Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), which uses electromagnetic energy to locally heat the disk to ease the process of writing data on to it, is favourite. HAMR requires integration of photonic components such as lasers, waveguides and plasmonic antennas into the recording head. This will drive low-cost photonic integration and plasmonic technology into other industries and applications.

Students embark on a four year programme - with an emphasis of additional technical skills, management and leadership training in the the outset before selecting their substantive research project in early summer of their first year.

The programme will lead to a Doctoral degree jointly awarded by Queen's University Belfast and University of Glasgow.

Academic
- The renewal will create 50 doctoral researchers with high level technical abilities and sophisticated managerial, leadership and personal effectiveness skills ready to take up employment in industry (with partners or beyond) or embark on academic careers.
- The programme will foster multidisciplinary perspectives in the cohorts which will allow them to address challenges either in research areas directly aligned to the PIADS CDT or beyond e.g. in ICT, Healthcare Technologies and sensing.
- Through the PIADS ecosystem academic staff and research groups will foster and form new collaborations leading to research outputs and impact, funding proposals and knowledge transfer.
- PIADS will provide career enhancing opportunities for its academic community, from established academics (advancement) to Early Career academics (supervisory experience and building research profile).
- PIADS will influence the delivery of other postgraduate programmes in the Universities by raising standards and expectations of the postgraduate experience through its cohort based training programme.
- The CDT will foster greater institutional collaboration through jointly awarded research degrees.

Industrial
- PIADS will bring together key companies who form a complete UK manufacturing supply chain for HAMR data storage technology.
- PIADS will drive the development and adoption of low-cost heterogeneous photonic integration technology that can be exploited not only in HAMR but also in multiple markets.
- The PIADS anchor tenant model will impact industry in multiple ways e.g. by facilitating co-creation of PhD/EngD projects, providing an ecosystem that links micro businesses and SMEs through to multinationals, and producing highly skilled doctoral researchers to meet recruitment needs for continued growth.

Societal
- PIADS Engagement & Outreach will continue to deliver its extensive programme of public engagement & outreach e.g. participation in European Researchers' Night, the N. Irish and Glasgow Science Festivals, the STEM Ambassador Programme, industry seminars and workshops and networking. These activities allow the cohorts and the public to interact with the science and technology of PIADS while respecting principles of Responsible Research and Innovation.

Economic
- PIADS will allow the industry partners to recruit skilled and qualified staff that support their respective plans for growth.
- PIADS will support UK economic activity in a sector that has 3X the average national productivity per worker.
- PIADS will support Seagate Technology in its plans to incorporate photonic integration into its current products thereby securing the future of some 1400 people in manufacturing and R&D, which contributes around £100M GVA p.a. to the UK economy in one of its most deprived areas.
- PIADS will engender the creation of an indigenous UK supply chain for low cost photonic integration technologies.
- PIADS will support the industrial partners to exploit outcomes related to their future market strategies, facilitating growth opportunities in a variety of sectors e.g. IQE, CST, KNT, Fraunhofer in ICT, Oxford Instruments, Yelo in scientific and engineering instrumentation, and Causeway Sensors and Cirdan Imaging in medical technology.