Photonics

Photonics is a collective term for all optical technologies. These technologies form the basis of many industrial processes. Here are a few examples: Lasers are used for cutting, drilling, ablation, and welding of materials from the nanoscale to processing centimetre-thick sheets of steel for building ships. Lithography is essential for producing computer chips in the semiconductor industry. Imaging systems such as tiny cameras for smartphones, high-resolution microscopes, and giant astronomical telescopes on ground and in space are well-known photonic technologies. Novel, not so well-known applications that rely on new sources of coherent light are optical atomic clocks or ultra-precise measurement techniques such as gravitational wave astronomy. Finally, photonics is essential for future quantum technologies, such as secure quantum communication, quantum sensing, and quantum computing. These technologies have created a dynamically growing industry. Our degree programme is tailored to meet the requirements of industrial and academic research and development in all of the areas mentioned above.