The Lasers and
Photonics Applications Group is situated in the School
of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt
University, Scotland; and is headed by Professor
Howard J Baker. The group currently consists of
two academic staff, three research associates and
four PhD students - details of whom can be found on
the Contact Us page.About us
Our group formed in 1987 with the arrival of
professors Hall and Baker at Heriot-Watt University.
Early on the LPA group made pioneering contributions
in the gas laser field with the creation of a
radically new laser design concept, based on large
area, ‘thin’ gain media operating at very high power
densities. This resulted in much-improved technology
for CO2 lasers, which has been exploited for key
industrial applications in laser material
processing.
The LPA group has since collaborated actively
with all three international CO2-laser companies
(Coherent Inc, Lumonics Ltd, and Rofin-Sinar GmbH)
who now commercially produce and market both planar
waveguide laser devices and industrial manufacturing
systems based on this laser technology. Total sales
of lasers and systems depending on these lasers
exceeds $900M.
Current projects
Today, our research is conducted under the
auspices of the Heriot-Watt
University Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre
(HW-IMRC). Currently projects, which are funded
by the IMRC, include:
More information on our current
and complete projects, as well as a complete
publications list can be found here and here
respectively.
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