University of Surrey- Equipment Account
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Surrey
Department Name: ATI Electronics
Abstract
The industrial adoption of graphene requires large area, high quality material. In order to produce the necessary material on substrates of choice, we wish to use our patented photo-thermal chemical vapour deposition (PT-CVD) system. PT-CVD uses a high intensity optical source to efficiently couple energy to grow high quality graphene on specially engineered catalyst substrates.
In relation to this Strategic Equipment bid the principal equipment requested is a photo-thermal chemical vapour deposition (PT-CVD) system from Thermco-Tetreon Technology. The system comprises an in-situ catalyst deposition system (to avoid oxidation and contamination) and a dedicated growth chamber capable of growth on 100 mm sized substrates, a bespoke rapid optical growth stabilisation array, in-situ Raman monitoring, residual gas analysis system and an AFM with Kelvin probe. The photo-thermal energy for growth is delivered from the rapid-growth stabilisation array consisting of high power optical sources, which can provide temperatures in excess of 1000C at the reaction front, whilst the substrate remains below 450C, compatible with CMOS integration. For both process control and further development the PT-CVD system will have an ancillary atomic force microscope, capable of scanning over large areas at high frame rates and high resolution to provide fast, accurate metrology of the graphene product. Also included is an in-situ Raman mapping system and residual gas analysis which will provide unique insight into the science of catalytic graphene growth as well as for quality control.
The principal PT-CVD graphene growth system, its rapid growth catalyst stabilisation unit, the ancillary quality control and in-situ growth monitoring equipment should be considered as a single unit system in order for us to develop this strategic material growth process for the establishment of electronic grade material for the UK and beyond.
In relation to this Strategic Equipment bid the principal equipment requested is a photo-thermal chemical vapour deposition (PT-CVD) system from Thermco-Tetreon Technology. The system comprises an in-situ catalyst deposition system (to avoid oxidation and contamination) and a dedicated growth chamber capable of growth on 100 mm sized substrates, a bespoke rapid optical growth stabilisation array, in-situ Raman monitoring, residual gas analysis system and an AFM with Kelvin probe. The photo-thermal energy for growth is delivered from the rapid-growth stabilisation array consisting of high power optical sources, which can provide temperatures in excess of 1000C at the reaction front, whilst the substrate remains below 450C, compatible with CMOS integration. For both process control and further development the PT-CVD system will have an ancillary atomic force microscope, capable of scanning over large areas at high frame rates and high resolution to provide fast, accurate metrology of the graphene product. Also included is an in-situ Raman mapping system and residual gas analysis which will provide unique insight into the science of catalytic graphene growth as well as for quality control.
The principal PT-CVD graphene growth system, its rapid growth catalyst stabilisation unit, the ancillary quality control and in-situ growth monitoring equipment should be considered as a single unit system in order for us to develop this strategic material growth process for the establishment of electronic grade material for the UK and beyond.
Planned Impact
This strategic equipment bid will allow for the key engineering challenges for large scale graphene production to be addressed and, in doing, so will allow for the exploitation in technologies not previously demonstrated due to the size limitations of high quality material. It is also a natural lead into extending the UK's Manufacturing the Future agenda. We have previously demonstrated how, from a fundamental understanding of the catalyst and energy coupling during the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), it would be possible to produce CNTs at low effective substrate temperatures. The resultant spinout business, Surrey NanoSystems Ltd, has raised over £11m to commercialise carbon based technologies and here we use our knowledge and proven track-record in carbon nanomaterial growth and characterisation to develop a large area high quality graphene growth system.
The impact of our research will be felt in UK manufacturing industry, allowing large area quality graphene to be produced for the first time on suitable substrates. We will produce high quality graphene for the benefit of the UK defence, advanced materials, space and communication industries. The University of Surrey is particularly strong in the area of mobile and wireless communications (via the 5GIC) and low cost space engineering though Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. We have been invited to become a member of the TSB's Catapult Innovation Centre in Satellite applications as well as the Connected Digital Economy catapult.
In the shorter term, several outcomes may have potential for commercial impact, and exploitation will be managed with the advice and aid of the Research and Enterprise Support (RES) office of the University. The Technology Transfer Office within RES is responsible for the protection and exploitation of intellectual property developed by staff, and has already acted upon a number of developments by the investigators in this proposal. The University of Surrey has a strong track record for commercial exploitation of research, with many successful spin out companies and wealth generation. The successful demonstration of large area high-quality graphene grown at low temperatures will have significant impact in the academic sphere and we expect high quality publications in major journals and conference presentations. Furthermore key outcomes will also be publicised through our institute's websites, via the graphene HUB and the University Communications and Marketing Services, in order to maximise the impact of the findings to both academic and industrial end users.
Over the last decade, despite major advances in graphene science, the impact on a world scale from a product point of view has been quite limited. Novel approaches to deliver real engineering solutions are needed and we believe that the technology we develop will pull graphene from pure research toward manufacturing. This project will deliver important applied and fundamental knowledge to research communities in the areas of national importance highlighted by the EPSRC - specifically: Manufacturing for the future, High Frequency Device Engineering and Carbon Nanotechnologies.
The impact of our research will be felt in UK manufacturing industry, allowing large area quality graphene to be produced for the first time on suitable substrates. We will produce high quality graphene for the benefit of the UK defence, advanced materials, space and communication industries. The University of Surrey is particularly strong in the area of mobile and wireless communications (via the 5GIC) and low cost space engineering though Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. We have been invited to become a member of the TSB's Catapult Innovation Centre in Satellite applications as well as the Connected Digital Economy catapult.
In the shorter term, several outcomes may have potential for commercial impact, and exploitation will be managed with the advice and aid of the Research and Enterprise Support (RES) office of the University. The Technology Transfer Office within RES is responsible for the protection and exploitation of intellectual property developed by staff, and has already acted upon a number of developments by the investigators in this proposal. The University of Surrey has a strong track record for commercial exploitation of research, with many successful spin out companies and wealth generation. The successful demonstration of large area high-quality graphene grown at low temperatures will have significant impact in the academic sphere and we expect high quality publications in major journals and conference presentations. Furthermore key outcomes will also be publicised through our institute's websites, via the graphene HUB and the University Communications and Marketing Services, in order to maximise the impact of the findings to both academic and industrial end users.
Over the last decade, despite major advances in graphene science, the impact on a world scale from a product point of view has been quite limited. Novel approaches to deliver real engineering solutions are needed and we believe that the technology we develop will pull graphene from pure research toward manufacturing. This project will deliver important applied and fundamental knowledge to research communities in the areas of national importance highlighted by the EPSRC - specifically: Manufacturing for the future, High Frequency Device Engineering and Carbon Nanotechnologies.
Organisations
- University of Surrey (Lead Research Organisation)
- Aerotrope Limited (Collaboration)
- Thames Water Utilities Limited (Collaboration)
- The Welding Institute (Collaboration)
- Qinetiq (United Kingdom) (Collaboration)
- National Physical Laboratory (Collaboration)
- Huntsman Advance Materials UK (Collaboration)
- University of Technology, Malaysia (Collaboration)
- Exova (Collaboration)
- Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) (Collaboration)
- Ionoptika (Collaboration)
- Max Planck Society (Collaboration)
- AFC Energy Ltd (Collaboration)
- Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM (Collaboration)
- Forest Research (Collaboration)
- University of Barcelona (Collaboration)
- Tata Steel Packaging (Project Partner)
- National Physical Laboratory (Project Partner)
- Tetreon Technologies Ltd (Project Partner)
Publications
Bance-Soualhi R
(2021)
Radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes for reverse electrodialysis: a comparison of N , N , N ', N '-tetramethylhexane-1,6-diamine crosslinking (amination stage) and divinylbenzene crosslinking (grafting stage)
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Barbé J
(2018)
Characterization of stability of benchmark organic photovoltaic films after proton and electron bombardments
in Applied Physics Letters
Berhanuddin D
(2018)
The Effect of Temperature to the Formation of Optically Active Point-defect Complex, the Carbon G-centre in Pre-amorphised and Non-amorphised Silicon
in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Bone J
(2022)
On the relationship between moisture uptake and mechanical property changes in a carbon fibre/epoxy composite
in Journal of Composite Materials
Burgess A
(2023)
Quantum memory effects in atomic ensembles coupled to photonic cavities
in AVS Quantum Science
Burgess A
(2021)
Modelling non-Markovian dynamics in photonic crystals with recurrent neural networks
in Optical Materials Express
Burgess A
(2022)
Non-Markovian dynamics of a single excitation within many-body dissipative systems
in Physical Review A
Burgess A
(2023)
Strong coupling dynamics of driven quantum systems with permanent dipoles
in AVS Quantum Science
Bushell Z
(2017)
High-Q photonic crystal cavities in all-semiconductor photonic crystal heterostructures
in Physical Review B
| Title | Film on Nanophotonics and hyperuniform photonics materials |
| Description | Dr Marian Florescu, Surrey University, and Dr Riccardo, Imperial College, London have made a short video about nanophotonics and hyperuniform photonics materials, which explores basic and advanced concepts in the field correlated disordered materials. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | not complete yet |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/224205971 |
| Description | • Atomic Force Microscope (Bruker) The AFM provides capability to undertake high resolution measurements of the surfaces of different materials. Such surface characteristics are important in many cases including work on adhesion, wetting and corrosion. o Developing AFM techniques to study the microstructure of materials (Bacon): Surface topography and Volta potential mapping of beryllium samples using tapping mode and scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM) respectively. For the purpose of analysing second phase particles present at the surface of the metal, which are known to cause localised corrosion. o Heat Spreading in Components Incorporating CVD Diamond for Scientific Instruments (Stupple): AFM was used to produce high-resolution scans of the surfaces of Chemical Vapour Deposited diamond samples, allowing characterisation of microstructure. Different samples were shown to vary in their grain size, number of voids and degree of processing damage. o In addition to the projects listed above REs Richards, Durant, and Bull have also made use of the AFM as part of their projects to perform routine surface characterisation work as part of their projects. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) for Mechanical Testing (Enabling Process Technologies Ltd.) DIC equipment forms an integral part of the University's mechanical testing facility. This has had direct input on EngD projects as well as broader work supporting RCUK projects as well as a range of PG and UG student projects. o Can damage to armour be assessed in the field in order to minimise time spent out of use? (Matthews): Project in relies on DIC as part of investigation to understanding whether the use of DIC is a viable means of damage detection for armoured helmets. The equipment has been used as a way to develop different modes of coupon excitation for surface strain. In the future, the equipment will be used for understanding whether the technique has the potential to detect damage prior to ballistic property degradation. o Improving the properties of wire and arc additively manufactured parts for reproducibility (Ryan): DIC is used during tensile testing of samples from Wire Arc Additive Manufactured (WAAM) parts to understand the effect that wire feed speed and travel speed had on the mechanical properties. o Advanced composite assemblies for aerospace applications (Dighton): DIC has been used to obtain a full-field strain map for an experimental test element designed to be representative of an adhesively bonded composite to composite structural joint in a wingbox. The data generated will be correlated with data obtained from strain gauge measurements, and mechanical test data, to validate a computational model of the structure. The VIC 3D software will also be used to scrutinise areas of interest where the test element is believed to have failed in order to build up a bigger picture on failure modes. o Carbon fibre based compression moulding compounds in automotive applications (Kite): The use DIC on compression moulding compounds allows the full field strain on the surface to be visualised, helping identify how the material is failing and identifying multiple areas of strain concentration. As well as visualising the full field strain, DIC is used with this material to provide a lower cost-per-test than the correct use of strain gauges. o Use of plasma pre-treatment in adhesive bonding (Williams): Work has contributed towards supporting this EngD project by exploring the capabilities of DIC to measure strain field in adhesive joints. This is an example of DIC being used to interrogate small areas in a non-contact manner thereby preventing the generated strains from being affected by the measurement method. UV/Ozone Cleaners for Electron Microscopy Samples (Hitachi) The UV/Ozone cleaners are attached to the high resolution SEM available to all REs. As such it forms a core facility for a large number of REs using our microscopes. Of the heavier users the outlines below provide examples of how the facility is supporting our REs: o Developing AFM techniques to study the microstructure of materials (Bacon): Removing hydrocarbon contamination from metallic samples prior to subsequent SEM and AES analysis. o Improving the properties of wire and arc additively manufactured parts for reproducibility (Ryan): Ozone cleaner is used to clean wire samples in order to remove hydrocarbon contamination from the surface before performing XPS on the samples. The system has also been used to remove carbon contamination from Bakelite samples before performing SEM on the samples. Nanoparticle Size Analyser (Malvern Instruments) Nanoparticle size provides a route to determine particle size distributions in a range of systems including the investigation of ceramic, metallic and polymeric materials as well as a range of organic/biological species. o Characterisation of metal-on-metal hip implant wear debris in clinical hips (Minta): Nano-PSA has been used for the measurement of gold nanoparticles to be used as part of the monitoring technique being developed within the project. o Characterisation of BiTe nanoparticles for use in inks for printing thermoelectric devices (Chamberlain) in collaboration with NPL. o The facilities are also used on the Nanomaterials and Ceramics technical short courses available to the REs. Here students study the rheological properties of suspended particles and determine ink stability and nanoparticle stability. Nanomaterials is a compulsory taught module taken by all REs which ceramics is one of the elective modules. As such this facility is used by all of our REs. o The facilities are also used by UG and Masters project students in the area of ceramics and bio materials. |
| Exploitation Route | It is to early to know what will prove the most significant outcome. Currently, there are two areas being pursued through industrial collaborations, and disclosure of results is necessarily limited. We can report usefully increased lithium storage capacity for battery electrodes coated with particular types of PTCVD-grown carbon nanotubes. For the Research Engineers equipment project, the facilities represent an enabling technology that impacts multiple grants across Surrey's research portfolio. The facilities will continue to be made available to the EngD RE's and research community in the future, so will continue to impact that research. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Construction,Electronics,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Security and Diplomacy,Transport |
| Description | Equipment committed to purchase a state of the art graphene growth system, with preliminary data gathered using existing tools. Initial graphene coatings used in light trapping coatings has resulted in a Science Advances paper. Allied coatings on other substrates have industrial interest. Equipment enabled the purchase of four pieces of research equipment to support the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme. The equipment is available to all RE's as well as the wider University research community. As the EngD RE's are based with their sponsoring organisations throughout their studies, access to this equipment has a direct and tangible benefit to UK industry. The equipment is an enabling technology that strengthens the performance of other research conducted at Surrey. As such impact is implicit in these grants and Surrey's continued collaboration with industry and other research organisations. The award has enabled a new laboratory to be setup jointly with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). This joint facility, n3m-labs (Nonlinear Microwave Measurement and Modelling Laboratories) is working to develop new an efficient designs methods using the advanced simulation and measurement facilities afforded by the grant. The devices that the laboratory has been primarily focused on are power transistors that will be used for next generation mobile devices (5G). We have been providing support for several UK based SMEs to improve their design capabilities. Our objective is to enable ubiquitous communications but done in a very environmentally friendly manner by reducing the power consumption. The majority of our impact comes through the development of the aforementioned techniques and working with companies to get these techniques implemented in practise. In addition to the UK based SMEs, we are also working with two large international companies (Billions in annual revenues) on their next generation devices. Through our laboratory and technology dissemination the UK will have greener electronics that have longer battery times and are allow the Governments vision of an interconnected Digital Society. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Electronics,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Transport,Other |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | Core Equipment Award 2022 |
| Amount | £575,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/X034933/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | EMPIR |
| Amount | £125,941 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 16ENG06 |
| Organisation | European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 09/2017 |
| End | 08/2020 |
| Description | EPSRC Strategic Equipment Grant |
| Amount | £513,369 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/P001440/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2016 |
| End | 10/2019 |
| Description | EURAMET |
| Amount | € 2,299,937 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 06/2017 |
| End | 05/2020 |
| Description | Feasibility Study |
| Amount | £97,406 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 132376 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2016 |
| End | 08/2017 |
| Description | IAA |
| Amount | £17,526 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/K503939/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2016 |
| End | 01/2017 |
| Description | Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research (ICURe) - Carbon Nanotubes |
| Amount | £30,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Surrey |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | Next generation anion-exchange membranes (AEM) with covalently-bound antiradical functions for enhanced durability |
| Amount | £674,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/T009233/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2020 |
| End | 11/2023 |
| Description | UGPN Collaboration Fund |
| Amount | £4,595 (GBP) |
| Organisation | UGPN |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start | 08/2017 |
| End | 07/2018 |
| Description | UK National Ion Beam Centre |
| Amount | £8,836,433 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NS/A000059/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2017 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | UK National Ion Beam Centre Core Equipment 20/21 |
| Amount | £425,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/V034863/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2020 |
| End | 05/2022 |
| Description | UKIERI UGC Thematic Partnerships 2016 |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2017 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Description | AFC Energy collaboration |
| Organisation | AFC Energy Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Testing of materials made at Surrey to AFC Energy for testing in commercial fuel cell test set-ups |
| Collaborator Contribution | AFC Energy provided the commercial fuel cell testing environment |
| Impact | none to note that are not commercially sensitive. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Exploratory Analysis of Wind Turbine Blades with Raman Spectroscopy |
| Organisation | Aerotrope Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Analysed failed wind turbine blades to examine failure mechanism and assess Raman spectroscopy as a method of analysis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Aerotrope provided samples and expertise in microscopy, mechanical failure and material composition. |
| Impact | Analysis report to blade manufacturer |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Joint Laboratory - n3m-labs |
| Organisation | National Physical Laboratory |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We've developed a new laboratory based, called n3m-labs. n3m-labs is the joint NPL/University of Surrey Nonlinear Microwave Measurement & Modelling Laboratories, situated at both the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, and the University of Surrey, Guildford. the official opening of n3m-labs took place on 9th June 2016 at the Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey. This has allowed us to attract significant attention from industry (including many UK based SMEs) and we have partnered or are working with over 15 companies and organizations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a joint facility opened in partnership. The joint facility will build on the strategic partnership and knowledge exchange between the National Physical Laboratory and the University of Surrey. |
| Impact | to be announced. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | QinetiQ partnership on energy materials |
| Organisation | Qinetiq |
| Department | QinetiQ (Farnborough) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have now set up a joint laboratories between QinetiQ and Surrey on sharing capability in energy materials and in particular on wearable technologies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | QinetiQ have provided invaluable support, advisory board membership and mentoring, and started an iCASE award in Oct. 2019 valued at £88k to work on this project. |
| Impact | Joint research and laboratory capability made available in 2020. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | Exova |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | Forest Research |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | Huntsman Advance Materials UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | Ionoptika |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | National Physical Laboratory |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | TWI ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Engineer sponsorship |
| Organisation | Thames Water Utilities Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The equipment supports the Engineering Doctorate Research Engineers on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Micro- and Nano Materials and Technologies (MiNMaT) programme and as such provides an attractive facility that future RE's are able to access. Such access is offered as standard to new RE's, and by connection their sponsoring organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The nine organisations are sponsoring Research Engineers for the October 2016 start as part of the Engineering Doctorate programme with contributions exceeding £400k. |
| Impact | too early in this cycle |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Surrey - Birmingham fuel cell catalyst collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Tested Birmingham's fuel cell catalyst in our fuel cells with Surrey's alkaline membrane electrode assemblies. We also provided some Raman data |
| Collaborator Contribution | Supply of non-PGM cathode catalyst. |
| Impact | Paper: M. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Thirunavukkarasu, I. Salam, J. R. Varcoe, P. Mardle, X. Li, S. Mu, S. Du, "Ionic liquid-modified microporous ZnCoNC-based electrocatalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells", ACS Energy Lett., 4, 2104 (2019). |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Surrey - Max Planck |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Surrey supplied anion exchange membranes and ionomers |
| Collaborator Contribution | MPI conducted ion-exchange capacity titrations and alkali stability measurements. |
| Impact | Joint paper (with NREL) submitted. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia |
| Organisation | University of Technology, Malaysia |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration between Prof John Varcoe and Professor Nasef from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia involves testing of UTM materials in Surrey's fuel cells and Raman Instrument. |
| Collaborator Contribution | UTM providing materials for testing |
| Impact | Too early. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | University of Barcelona |
| Organisation | University of Barcelona |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The collaboration between Dr Carol Crean and Prof E Valles involves the University of Barcelona modifying conducting fibres made at Surrey with magnetic materials. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The University of Barcelon modifies conducting fibres and tests those modified fibres. |
| Impact | Too early |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Title | A METHOD FOR GRAPHENE AND CARBON NANOTUBE GROWTH |
| Description | A layer stack for growing graphene or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is described. The layer stack comprises a substrate, a protective layer, and an attachment surface disposed therebetween. The protective layer is configured to allow carbon diffusion therethrough to the attachment surface, such that graphene or CNTs grow therefrom. |
| IP Reference | WO2015189575 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2015 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | There is some commercial interest which is being developed |
| Title | COMPOSITION COMPRISING A THREE-DIMENSIONAL AMORPHOUS TRIVALENT NETWORK |
| Description | The invention provides a composition comprising a three-dimensional amorphous trivalent network which reduces the number of modes within a particular frequency range (?c±??). The invention also extends to use of the composition as a structural colouration material and a paint, dye or fabric comprising the structural colouration material. Additionally, the invention extends to use of the composition as an optical filter or as a supporting matrix configured to define at least one optical component, such as a frequency filter, light-guiding structure for a telecommunications application, an optical computer chip, an optical micro-circuit or a laser comprising the supporting matrix. |
| IP Reference | WO2017134424 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2017 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | PCT/GB2017/050240 |
| Title | Hyperuniform disordered material with perforated resonant structure |
| Description | An optical structure includes a Hyperuniform Disordered Solid ("HUDS") structure, a photonic crystal waveguide, and a perforated resonant structure. The HUDS structure is formed by walled cells organized in a lattice. The photonic crystal waveguide is configured to guide an optical signal and includes an unperforated central strip extended lengthwise and three rows of circular perforations disposed on each side of the unperforated central strip. The perforated resonant structure is formed along a boundary of the photonic crystal waveguide. The perforated resonant structure is configured to be resonant at a frequency band that is a subset of a bandwidth of the optical signal. The perforated resonant structure includes an outer segment, a middle segment, and an inner segment of the circular perforations that are offset away from the unperforated central strip at a first, second, and third offset distance. |
| IP Reference | US9519104 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2016 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | We are currently in discussion with external parties to identify commercial opportunities. The paper that accompanied the published patent has also received very good press coverage. |
| Title | Method for graphene and carbon nanotube growth |
| Description | As a result of this patent we have an agreement with TATA Steel and are working towards a multi million pound project to commercialise this |
| IP Reference | US Patent 10,385,449 |
| Protection | Patent granted |
| Year Protection Granted | 2019 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | The output patented and granted by the US, was validated Nickel plated steels by Tata and is now being trailed in both fuel cells and electrical steels for increased TRL. |
| Title | Optical Structures and Hyperuniform Disordered Material |
| Description | An optical structure and a system includes a Hyperuniform Disordered Solid ("HUDS") structure and a waveguide. The HUDS structure is formed by walled cells organized in a lattice. |
| IP Reference | US20170315292 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2017 |
| Licensed | Yes |
| Impact | PAtent assigned to Etaphase Inc., a startup company pursuing photonic integrated circuits. |
| Description | "Correlated Disorder, Hyperuniformity and Local Self-Uniformity: From Biomimetics to Photonic Integrated Circuits", |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | A two-day workshop held at the University of Surrey from 25th -26th June 2018. The event was organized by Dr Marian Florescu (University of Surrey), Dr Riccardo Sapienza (Imperial College) and Prof Stephen Sweeny (University of Surrey). The workshop brought together 35 international experts to explore the consequences of hyperuniformity and local self-uniformity across diverse research fields and to unravel the fundamental impact of correlated disorder concepts on biomimetic and nanophotonic applications. The topics covered by the workshop ranged from fundamental aspects of localization in hyperuniform structures to fabrication challenges and applications including photonic circuits, solar cell absorbers and integrated spectrometers. The workshop attracted presenters from seven countries and all the key groups in the field were represented. In addition to the various groups working in this area in the UK (Surrey, Imperial, Southampton and Cambridge), there were representatives from four groups in Germany, three groups in Spain, three groups in Switzerland, three groups in the US, two groups in France and two groups in the Netherlands. The workshop included 20 talks and 10 poster presentations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | ARFTG 88th Conference Austin TX 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker at the conference - 'Multiphysics - More than Just Microwaves' (Aaen); 'Development of a Reference Water for On0Water Testing of Extreme Impedance Devices' (Votsi et al). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.arftg.org/index.php/about-arftg/documents/88th-conference/91-88th-arftg-technical-agenda-... |
| Description | IDICS Conference 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The 2015 International Digital Image Correlation Society Conference and Workshop: and invited talk at a conference organised by the suppliers of the DIC equipment. No official proceedings or publication. Work presented focussed on a specific research area that we have been applying DIC to and provided an opportunity for the researcher to get feedback on some initial work, which has greatly benefitted the specific project and Surrey's DIC community as a whole. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.eptworld.com/sandpit/index.php/dic-systems/9-events/57-idics |
| Description | IEEE International Microwave Symposium workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | IMS2017 is the largest international conference devoted to the research, development, and application of RF and microwave theory and techniques and attracted over 8,000 participants and 500 exhibiting companies from around the world. This conference is organized and sponsored by the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://ims2017.org/ |
| Description | IO3M press release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The instiute of Materials, Minerals and Mining has put forward a press release about our work on improving the effciency of thin solar cells. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.iom3.org/resource/new-efficiency-record-for-ultra-thin-solar-panel.html |
| Description | International Conference invited talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk on "Colloidal Science and Metamaterials", |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited Talk - Princeton |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at Hyperuniform State of Matter in Physics, Mathematics and Biology, Princeton Center for Theoretical Physics Workshop, title 'Local self-uniformity: Amorphous Diamond versus Triamond'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://pcts.princeton.edu/pcts/Hyperuniform2016/HyperuniformPoster9.26.16.pdf |
| Description | Invited Talk, META 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | M. Florescu et al., "Hyperuniform and Local Self-Uniform Solar Light Absorbers" invited talk, at META 2021, the 11th International Conference on Metamaterials, Photonic Crystals and Plasmonics, Poland, July 2021 (via weblink). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://metaconferences.org/ocs/index.php/META18/META21#.YiXuAnrP1aQ |
| Description | Invited keynote Pohang 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited keynote speaker 'Disordered Photonics' talk at the 2nd International POSTECH Nanophotonics Conference, Frontiers in Metamaterials and Plasmonics, Pohang, South Korea, March 2016 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://sites.google.com/site/metamatworkshop2016/ |
| Description | Invited lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture to the regional IET on Physics-Based Modelling for Engineering Design |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Keynote speaker at conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | (Keynote Speaker) S.R.P. Silva, "Nanoscale Design of Carbons for Electronic Applications", International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - ICONN (via weblink), Brisbane, Australia, 10-14 February 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | META '16 Conference Malaga |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at META'16, 7th International Conference on Metamaterials, Photonic Crystals and Plasmonics, Malaga, Spain July 2016. There were a number of presentations made: 'Hyperuniformity and local self-uniformity: Photonics band gaps in disordered materials'; 'Locally Self-Uniform Photonic Networks', 'Designing hyperuniform structures for efficient light harvesting'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://metaconferences.org/ocs/index.php/META16/META16 |
| Description | Nanotexnology 2015 Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote speaker at the conference on Nano-Engineered Hybrid Carbon Nanotube Organic heterojunctions for Improved Photovoltaic Performance |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.nanotexnology.com/2015/index.php/2015-invited-speakers-home |
| Description | Physics World coverage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Physics Wolrd has published an article on our work on higly effcient thin solar cells. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://physicsworld.com/a/honeycomb-like-nanopatterning-boosts-efficiency-of-ultrathin-solar-panels... |
| Description | Press release from World Economic Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The World Economic Forum has put forward a press release about our work on increasing the performance of thin solar cells emphasising the impact of our work not only on the solar energy conversion but also for other industries, like photo-electrochemistry, solid-state light emission and photodetectors, that focus on light management. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022 |
| URL | https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/scientists-achieve-record-energy-efficiency-for-thin-solar-pa... |
| Description | XIV Brazil MRS Meeting 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at the conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.sbpmat.org.br/14encontro/?lang=en |