Research

The Photonics Research Lab at the University of Kent has been at the forefront of research on radio, microwave and millimetre-wave over fibre systems for the last 20 years. In recent years, our research activities have been focused on inter-disciplinary areas that study the interaction between photonics and other traditional or state-of-the-art technologies in different fields, such as microwave photonics, biophotonics and fiber optics, for industrial, communications, biomedical, and energy applications. The research activities have been well funded by the European Commission, UK research councils and charitable foundations.

Examples of current and recent externally-funded projects include:

• EPIC-BIO – A two-year international exchanges project funded by the Royal Society aiming to develop ultra-sensitive optical fibre biosensors for single-molecule detection of cancer biomarkers
• AFCAD – A three-year InnovateUK and Aerospace Technology Institute funded programme aiming to rapidly develop high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (HTPEM) fuel cell technology for aviation.
• Low-profile ultra-wideband wide-scanning multi-function beam-steerable array antennas – A three-year EPSRC-funded project