Laser Loan Pool Facility.
Lead Research Organisation:
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Department Name: Central Laser Facility (CLF)
Abstract
Lasers continue to be essential tools to researchers in a wide range of scientific disciplines and are becoming increasingly important in enabling physical scientists to develop technologies for the benefit of biological and medical science. However, state-of-the-art lasers are often complex and expensive, which often precludes their use in many projects, or limits their availability to test out innovative new ideas. As such, the concept of a laser loan pool was established in 1985 to provide a variety of state-of-the-art commercial laser systems to UK researchers to use at their home institutions, underpinned by technical and scientific support from the Central Laser Facility (CLF). This allows a single investment in laser technology to be accessed by any UK researcher.Researchers apply through a formal peer review process and receive a laser on loan for up to 6 months. All aspects of the laser operation including transport, installation and maintenance are supported by CLF staff. The staff also give advice on all areas of the scientific programme from the application process to experimental detail and laser operation. This application is to secure and enhance the operation of the Laser Loan Pool by the CLF for the next 5 years, working with EPSRC on behalf of the UK research community. It identifies the key areas for continued support such as ultrafast investigations and new opportunities in bioscience. This will ensure a continuation of internationally leading science output, coupled to the essential training that has helped so many researchers and permitted numerous academics to develop their fields and submit successful grant applications.The allocation of lasers will continue to be made by the established peer review process through an independent Facility Access Panel. As recommended by a recent review of the Loan Pool, a new Steering Committee will be established with the specific purpose of guiding the facility on scientific hot topics , timely and appropriate equipment procurement, and its overall strategic direction.This application is supported by 38 UK researchers who give brief examples of the high quality and broad range of science that will be maintained through this programme.The topics cover many EPSRC programme areas including Research for People, Prosperity and the Planet (Health, Defence and Crime Prevention), The Nano World, Human-Centred Systems and Engineering and Science for Sustainability.
Publications
Abb M
(2014)
Hotspot-mediated ultrafast nonlinear control of multifrequency plasmonic nanoantennas.
in Nature communications
Bainbridge A
(2014)
Velocity map imaging of femtosecond laser induced photoelectron emission from metal nanotips
in New Journal of Physics
Bainbridge A. R.
(2015)
Femtosecond single- to few-electron point-projection microscopy for nanoscale dynamic imaging
in arXiv e-prints
Barlow Myers CW
(2018)
Femtosecond transmission electron microscopy for nanoscale photonics: a numerical study.
in Nanoscale
Barry CS
(2013)
'Naked' and hydrated conformers of the conserved core pentasaccharide of N-linked glycoproteins and its building blocks.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Beames JM
(2009)
Comparison of the resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization spectra of pyrrole and 2,5-dimethylpyrrole: Building toward an understanding of the electronic structure and photochemistry of porphyrins.
in The Journal of chemical physics
Belshaw L
(2012)
Observation of Ultrafast Charge Migration in an Amino Acid.
in The journal of physical chemistry letters
| Description | Throughout the grant duration the Laser Loan Pool has provide in excess of 70 laser loans to UK academics, supported in excess of 20 PhDs, provided training for numerous other staff and researchers and provided vital support to experiments at both Diamond Light Source and CERN. Unfortunately these activities will cease in 2015 as EPSRC has decided that the Laser Loan Pool does not meet the criteria of a national mid-range facility and has had a lower level of usage in recent years. During this grant the facility continued to supply its users with state-of-the-art technology along with the necessary knowledge and support required for successful laser operation. The facility was also enhanced with numerous new systems including: a supercontinuum laser and ultrafast system suited to research at the life science interface; an ultrafast system ideal for both the engineering/materials and physics communities; and a high energy pulsed laser which appeals to the engineering and materials communities for applications such as laser peening. Research supported by the Laser Loan Pool does not fall under one single project as it supports a wide variety of UK academics and their research projects ranging from bioscience to engineering and materials. Thus this summary naturally includes findings from a selection of the numerous researchers supported. Highlights of the research include: Dr Greenwood's (Queen's University Belfast) recent studies on ultrafast (attosecond) dynamics in phenylalanine. This is an extension of previous attosecond science progressing the work from atoms and simple molecules and advancing to more complex and biologically relevant species providing a new benchmark for attosecond science (Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1254061). Dr Mahajan (University of Southampton) demonstrated the potential for CARS imaging to provide rapid label-free cell and tissue-based assays for measuring the effect and response to drug treatment. This technique is similar to Raman where the molecular 'fingerprint' is recorded but is orders of magnitude stronger. This development has both in vivo and in vitro applications (Journal of Biophotonics DOI: 10.1002/jbio.201300110). Profs Simons and Davis (University of Oxford) continued their research into sugar structures by investigating the anomeric effect. This effect describes the tendency of sugar molecules to take 'unusual' structures by 'preferring' to orientate their bulky electronegative substituents in the more hindered axial position. Whilst the underlying physical origins for this effect are not clear, this had been attributed, by some researchers, to the influence of water and other substances. This study showed that isolated molecules in the gas phase can still adopt the unusual structures, ruling out extraneous effects as the cause. This work suggests that it may be import to examine the reasons for the effect and its potential biological relevance (Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature09693). Drs Volk and Brusts (University of Liverpool) investigated the potential for initiating cancer cell death by laser radiation of cancer cells containing gold nanoparticles in the cell membrane which lead to cell rupture and death. The low laser intensity used in their research rules out photothermal damage as the cause (Nano Letters DOI: 10.1021/nl103142t). The above examples detail only a small fraction of the work supported by the facility and you are referred to the complete list of publications submitted with this report. |
| Exploitation Route | As examples: The research of Profs Simons and Davis into sugar structures could have implications for medicine but will need much additional research (Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature09693). The work of Drs Volk and Brust on cancer cell damage (DOI 10.1021/nl103142t) and the CARS imaging within live cells by Dr Mahajan (DOI 10.1002/jbio.201300110) have obvious potential non-academic uses in healthcare. Dr Wu's (University of York) research on ultrafast magnetization of transition metal alloy films has potential future applications in data storage in optical media (eg DOI 10.1109/TMAG.2012.2202313 and DOI 10.1063/1.2713701). Dr Claeyssens' (University of Sheffield) research into the writing of three-dimensional neural tissue using laser induced multi-photon polymerization of polylactide-based materials has applications for neuronal implants (DOI 10.1088/1758-5082/3/4/045005 and DOI 10.1088/1758-5082/4/2/025005). |
| Sectors | Chemicals,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Other |
| URL | http://www.stfc.ac.uk/clf/14706.aspx |
| Description | The EPSRC Laser Loan Pool was established over 25 years ago to provide state-of-the-art lasers to UK academics at their home institutions, for feasibility studies, grant support and training. This grant enabled the STFC's Central Laser Facility to continue to provide this vital support to the UK research community. The funds have enabled the facility to provide in excess of 70 laser loans to UK academics, supported in excess of 20 PhDs and provided training for numerous other staff and researchers. The facility has continued to supply users with state-of-the-art technology along with the necessary knowledge and support required for successful laser operation. In addition it has provided vital support to experiments at both Diamond Light Source and CERN. The diverse nature of the research findings is reflected in the wide breadth of publications attached. Along with the academic outputs the support the facility has provided has enabled a number of researchers to successfully seek further grant support including Dr J Greenwood (Queen's University Belfast, EP/J007048/1 and RPG-2012-735) and Profs McKenna and Faulkner (University of Oxford, OCIC2). A number of other researchers have also successfully sought local internal funding backed by the outputs from the Loan Pool supported research including Prof J Lawrence (University of Lincoln, 'Laser ignition in gas turbines - Phase 2' and 'Detonation plume analysis') and Drs Volk and Brust (University of Liverpool, 'Novel Photochemical Approach to Cancer Therapy using Gold Nanoparticles'). Unfortunately the Laser Loan Pool's support to the UK research community will cease in 2015 as EPSRC has decided that the facility does not meet the criteria of a national mid-range facility and has had a lower level of usage in recent years. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2009 |
| Sector | Chemicals,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Electronics,Energy,Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Other |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | EPSRC Laser Loan Pool Steering Committee |
| Organisation | University of Leicester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof Lin Li (Manchester), Dr Michael Hippler (Sheffield), Dr Andrew Hudson (Leicester) and Prof Pavlos Lagoudakis (Southampton) were the members of the Loan Pool Steering committee established at the start of the grant. At the annual meetings the Laser Loan Pool team presented the current status of the facility, its outputs, potential purchases and direction. The steering committee provided advice, guidance, suggestions from their research communities and opinions from a broad research background regarding the Laser Loan Pool's future and its laser purchases. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Advice, guidance, suggestions from their research communities and opinions from a broad research background regarding the Laser Loan Pool's future and its laser purchases. |
| Impact | Agreements reached on the facilities purchases and future direction. |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | EPSRC Laser Loan Pool Steering Committee |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof Lin Li (Manchester), Dr Michael Hippler (Sheffield), Dr Andrew Hudson (Leicester) and Prof Pavlos Lagoudakis (Southampton) were the members of the Loan Pool Steering committee established at the start of the grant. At the annual meetings the Laser Loan Pool team presented the current status of the facility, its outputs, potential purchases and direction. The steering committee provided advice, guidance, suggestions from their research communities and opinions from a broad research background regarding the Laser Loan Pool's future and its laser purchases. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Advice, guidance, suggestions from their research communities and opinions from a broad research background regarding the Laser Loan Pool's future and its laser purchases. |
| Impact | Agreements reached on the facilities purchases and future direction. |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | EPSRC Laser Loan Pool Steering Committee |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof Lin Li (Manchester), Dr Michael Hippler (Sheffield), Dr Andrew Hudson (Leicester) and Prof Pavlos Lagoudakis (Southampton) were the members of the Loan Pool Steering committee established at the start of the grant. At the annual meetings the Laser Loan Pool team presented the current status of the facility, its outputs, potential purchases and direction. The steering committee provided advice, guidance, suggestions from their research communities and opinions from a broad research background regarding the Laser Loan Pool's future and its laser purchases. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Advice, guidance, suggestions from their research communities and opinions from a broad research background regarding the Laser Loan Pool's future and its laser purchases. |
| Impact | Agreements reached on the facilities purchases and future direction. |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | EPSRC Laser Loan Pool Steering Committee |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof Lin Li (Manchester), Dr Michael Hippler (Sheffield), Dr Andrew Hudson (Leicester) and Prof Pavlos Lagoudakis (Southampton) were the members of the Loan Pool Steering committee established at the start of the grant. At the annual meetings the Laser Loan Pool team presented the current status of the facility, its outputs, potential purchases and direction. The steering committee provided advice, guidance, suggestions from their research communities and opinions from a broad research background regarding the Laser Loan Pool's future and its laser purchases. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Advice, guidance, suggestions from their research communities and opinions from a broad research background regarding the Laser Loan Pool's future and its laser purchases. |
| Impact | Agreements reached on the facilities purchases and future direction. |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | LSF User Meeting 2010 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talked about recent Loan Pool highlights and potential future purchase which initiated a good discussion with members of the audience who were able to make useful suggestions to take forward to the next Loan Pool Steering Committee meeting. At least two new users of the facility |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | LSF User Meeting 2012 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk initiated questions and suggestions for future improvements within the Loan Pool and generated interest from researchers who where either interested or had colleagues that would be interested in the facility. Lead to at least two new users of the facility. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | LSF User Meeting 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Meeting over a number of days to allow all LSF Facility Users and Loan Pool Facility users to meet and present their work and discuss future science and the facilities future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |