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Electronics and Photonics

Enhanced Fuel efficiency in engines owes much to sophisticated electronic / photonic sensors and complex engine management electronics. Similarly the modern built environment benefits from advanced electronic / photonic monitoring and control systems capable of detecting stress and strain in structures, as well as fire and other environmental hazards. Further developments in the ability to generate electrical energy from light (photovoltaics), allied with the potential to improve the efficiency with which electrical power is consumed in lighting applications, mean that electronic and photonic technologies will make a significant contribution to sustainable production and consumption.

The UK has an excellent track record and reputation for industrial and academic activity in both electronic and photonic technologies. The companies operating in both sectors consist primarily of SMEs, and experience indicates that Government support to assist these companies to cooperate with other firms or with the UK's science base, can have a significant impact on their ability to develop marketable products. It is anticipated that the creation of Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTNs) in photonics and electronics will help to bring greater coherence to the UK's activities in these two vitally important areas.

Activity to Date

The importance of electronic and photonic technologies has already been recognised and their further development fostered by the DTI and the Technology Strategy Board. The UK's notable expertise in electronics design, for instance, was developed with the support from the DTI under its Microelectronics in Business and Electronics Design Programmes. In photonics, pioneering work on optical fibres, lasers, materials and semiconductor growth technologies received support from the DTI and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through several of the LINK programmes that helped create effective working relations between industry and academia. Subsequently the DTI worked wit the industries through an Electronics Innovation & Growth Team (IGT) and a Photonics Strategy Group to support continued growth. Both areas have featured prominently in specific parts of the Technology Programme to date, as the following table indicates, although many projects in this areas not specifically mentioned below will have involved electronic and photonic content:

Successful Collaborative R&D Projects:

April 2004 - Sensors and Control Systems

November 2004 - Optoelectronics and Disruptive Electronic Techniques,  Imaging Technologies