Novel Glass & Fibre
The Novel Glass Group, led by Professor Dan Hewak, is part of the ORC's Fibre Fabrication Area and plays a central role in a broad spectrum of ORC activities.
Our mission is to explore the application of advanced materials, in particular chalcogenide glass, in any area of optoelectronics, the more unusual the better! It is a large and active group, consisting of Research Fellows, PhD students and Technical Support. We regularly interact with industry and collaborators internationally.
Facilities
Our facilities include a wide range of specialised glass-making and fibre drawing equipment, along with shared clean rooms for thin film deposition. Thermal, optical, electrical and mechanical characterisation equipment are within the group and within the University we have access to a wide range of state-of-the-art analytical equipment. The diversity of this equipment allows the group to rapidly redirect its research activities and respond instantly to emerging technologies.
ChAMP – Chalcogenide Advanced Manufacturing Partnership:
ChAMP brings a together world-class, inter-disciplinary UK team, comprising physicists, chemists, engineers and computer scientists, with expertise spanning fundamental ab initio materials simulations, material discovery, advanced materials manufacturing and characterisation, and state-of-the-art design and device development with the aim of:-
- Establishing a world-leading chalcogenide research and manufacturing facility
- Discovering new and optimize existing compositions within this glass family
- Nurturing existing & develop new links to industry & help them exploit chalcogenide materials
- Developing device demonstrators in key application areas, including electronics, non-linear optics, telecommunications and active and passive infrared components
- To partner with UK academia nationwide, beyond the partners within this collaboration, giving them the opportunity to explore new and emerging applications of chalcogenides
- This consists of leading academics from Southampton, Exeter, Oxford, Cambridge and Heriot-Watt Universities, all of whom work extensively with chalcogenides.
Work with us
Please contact Professor Dan Hewak if you would like any further information about the work of our Novel Glass and Fibre group or would be interested in working with us.
Recently we began new work in collaboration with the Composite Material Lab in Chemistry - find out more.