PhD: Real-time nanoscale imaging in live cells - High Speed Single Molecule Localisation Microscopy

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The impact of the CDT in Integrated Photonic and Electronic Systems is expected to be wide ranging and include both scientific research and industry outcomes. In terms of academia, it is envisaged that there will be a growing range of research activity in this converged field in coming years, and so the research students should not only have opportunities to continue their work as research fellows, but also to increasingly find posts as academics and indeed in policy advice and consulting.

The main area of impact, however, is expected to be industrial manufacturing and service industries. Industries involved will include those involved in all areas of ICT, together with printing, consumer electronics, construction, infrastructure, defence, energy, engineering, security, medicine and indeed systems companies providing information systems, for example for the financial, retail and medical sectors. Such industries will be at the heart of the digital economy, energy, healthcare, security and manufacturing fields. These industries have huge markets, for example the global consumer electronics market is expected to reach $289 billion in 2014. It should also be noted that the photonics sector itself represents a huge enterprise. The global photonics market was $385B in 2010 and is growing with a CAGR of >10%. The Photonics 21 pan-European industry group estimates that the European photonics industry generated revenues of Eu 58B in 2010 and employed 290,000 people. They recognised that photonics is deployed in many industries and has an impact on markets with > Eu 3.6 trillion and 30 M jobs (about 14% of the total) in Europe.

Rightly highlighted by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the wider UK EPES (Electronics, Photonics and Electrical Systems) manufacturing sector turned over £42.4B in 2006, and employed over 330,000 people in 14,500 enterprises, with particular strengths in defence, imaging, displays, components, communications, lighting and solar energy. As well as involving large companies, such as BAE Systems, Arm and QinetiQ, there are over 10,000 UK SMEs in the EPES manufacturing sector, according to the TSB. Evidence of the entrepreneurial culture that exists and the potential for benefit to the UK economy from establishing the CDT includes the founding of companies such as Smart Holograms, Light Blue Optics, recent recipients of $26M venture funding, Zinwave, Eight19 and Photon Design by staff and our former PhD students. Indeed, over 20 companies have been spun out in the last 10 years from the groups proposing this CDT.

Centre research activities will contribute very strongly to research impact in the ICT area (computer interconnects, next generation access technologies, cellular network backhaul, converged photonic/electronic integration, quantum information processing etc), underpinning the Digital Economy theme, and contributing strongly to the themes of Energy (low energy lighting, low energy large area photonic/electronics for e-posters and window shading, photovoltaics, energy efficient displays), Manufacturing the Future (integrated photonic and electronic circuits, smart materials processing with photonics), Next Generation Healthcare (optical coherence tomography, discrete and real time biosensing, personalised healthcare), Global Uncertainties and Living with Environmental Change (advanced sensing systems incorporating electronics with photonics).