Engineering Photonics: Sensor and Instrumentation Development and Application

This proposal is to provide a platform for our research programmes that develop and apply advanced engineering photonics sensors and instrumentation to provide innovative measurement solutions. These measurements enable advances in engineering and science across multiple areas recognised as strategically important by the UK government. These areas include aerospace, energy, manufacturing, health, environment and transport.

Cranfield's leading research in engineering photonics based sensors and instrumentation, around which this Platform Grant is focused, provides significant added value to all these themes.

The areas of research to be supported under this Platform Grant are:

(i) Optical sensors and instrumentation for aerodynamic applications including evaluation on a flight test platform available owned and flown by Cranfield; a Scottish Aviation Bulldog aircraft

(ii) Optical gas and chemical sensing

(iii) Optical measurement technology for composite material process monitoring, health monitoring and impact detection

(iv) Advanced optical sensors and instrumentation for point-of-care diagnostics

(v) Novel optical instrumentation to support high added value manufacturing

(vi) Sensors based on nano-structured films deposited on optical fibre devices

Our vision is to provide novel optical measurement solutions to nationally and internationally important applications in engineering. This will be achieved by developing novel photonic sensors and instrumentation, acknowledged by EPSRC to 'play a key role in enabling high quality transformational research' and to have 'a role to play in taking emerging technologies and sectors further towards application and commercialisation', to provide innovative measurement solutions that enable advances in engineering and science across multiple EPSRC priority areas. These include manufacturing, aerospace, transport, environment, energy and health. This information is used by others to produce high quality, lower cost and more environmentally friendly products. For example, lighter weight composite materials in structural and safety critical applications, improved aerodynamic efficiency for aerospace, automotive and energy applications, responding to ever more stringent legislation for safety critical applications, increased monitoring of components to extend their useful lifetime, and faster, lower cost diagnosis in health care. These areas will all benefit from advanced optical sensors and instrumentation, and in many cases optical methods are the only viable measurement solution. In particular the nature of the Platform Grant is such that industry will benefit from the greater stability of the research team and their ability to respond to short-term studies in a timely manner.

We collaborate extensively with SMEs and large national and multinational companies. The optical instrumentation and sensing technologies to be underpinned by the Platform Grant will support these industries in a number of ways. We have, for example, engaged with the user base as follows; the design of new optical products; the introduction of new measurement methodologies to manufacturing; the introduction of new measurement methodologies to testing.

We have existing collaborations with a number of industrial partners in the UK, Europe and internationally. Examples include: Airbus; Alphasense; BAE Systems, Cascade Technologies, EADS Astrium; Corus, Oxford Instruments, Mercedes, Rolls Royce; Siemens; Geotechnical Instruments; Daher-Socata; Embraer. With many of these companies we have existing agreements and close collaboration making for efficient and timely communication and engagement. This engagement occurs for specific projects and also by running dissemination meeting.

We engage with the Electronics, Sensors, Photonics Network of Innovate UK (previously the TSB). We are also an active partner in the UK "Gas Analysis and Sensing Group (GASG)", for which we hosted a meeting in April 2013 and will be chairing (Hodgkinson) from Jan. 2015.

We will continue to publish in high quality peer-reviewed journals and at international meetings as well as articles in appropriate trade magazines. Web pages describing the PG and its outcomes, along with our more specific research programmes, will be hosted on the university's site to further communicate the research. We plan to continue this broad range of engagement and dissemination that has operated successfully to-date.

We will host two free-to-attend dissemination workshops, one in year 3 and the other in year 5, with a target audience of 60.

The research themes to be underpinned by the Platform Grant are adventurous and will make an impact in a time frame of 5-20 years.