Our overall goal is to develop an ultraprecision dicing / grinding system that will be applicable to photonics and microsystems. Working with a set of UK companies we will develop the system as a test-bed and implement a set of cutting edge instrumentation add-ons to better control the machining of materials with sub-nanometre surface finishes and sub-100 nanometre overall tolerancing on complex objects. Dicing relies on a diamond-impregnated cutting disc driven at up to 150,000 rpm on a spindle being accurately translated relative to a workpiece. Any vibration or lack of perfection in the system will result in degraded surfaces, chipping of diced facets and edge chipping on grooves and channels. Importantly when placing the dicing blade on the spindle, there are inevitable errors in truism, for example, whether the blade is accurately at 90 degrees to the spindle axis, whether the blade is perfectly concentric, and whether the translation is truly along the direction of the blade. Of course, in the real world, these things are never truly perfect, and so a goal of the project is to implement feedback and control, which allows adaptive compensation. In the project, we will build a system using 900kg of granite to hold and create an ultra-stiff system, then use air-bearing elements and control signals to identify and create feedback loops to achieve incredible levels of surface finish and overall precision. Critically we will work in the ductile machining regime where operation in the elastic limit of the material allows us to avoid brittle fracture and the sort of damage which majorly degrades the performance of optical and microsystem elements. We will be looking at a range of optical and electronic materials, including glasses, crystals and semiconductors. In the latter phase of the project, we will be looking to adopt and create new ways to 'true' the blade, using state-of-the-art metrology to control issues of blade side-wall wear, blade flutter, non-concentricity originated machining rates and load-related vibration. From this work, we expect to gain valuable insights that will help our commercial partners. Firstly, by creating new ultra-precision machine tools in the UK, secondly understanding how best to implement advanced techniques and thirdly, by making exemplar devices in technologically important materials to really prove our approaches work.

Quantum technologies exploit the intriguing properties of matter and light that emerge when the randomizing processes of everyday situations are subdued. Particles then behave like waves and, like the photons in a laser beam, can be split and recombined to show interference, providing sensing mechanisms of exquisite sensitivity and clocks of exceptional accuracy. Quantum measurements affect the systems they measure, and guarantee communication security by destroying cryptographic keys as they are used. The entanglement of different atoms, photons or circuits allows massively powerful computation that promises complex optimizations, ultrafast database searches and elusive mathematical solutions. These quantum technologies, which EPSRC has declared one of its four Mission-Inspired priorities, promise in the near future to stand alongside electronics and laser optics as a major technological resource. In this 'second quantum revolution', a burgeoning quantum technology industry is translating academic research and laboratory prototypes into practical devices. Our commercial partners - global corporations, government agencies, SMEs, start-ups, a recruitment agency and VC fund - have identified a consistent need for hundreds of doctoral graduates who combine deep understanding of quantum science with engineering competence, systems insight and a commercial head. With our partners' guidance, we have designed an exciting programme of taught modules to develop knowledge, skills and awareness beyond the provision of traditional science-focused PhD programmes. While pursuing leading-edge research in quantum science and engineering, graduate students in the EPSRC CDT for Quantum Technology Engineering will follow a mix of lectures, practical assignments and team work, peer learning, workshops, and talks by our commercial partners. They will strengthen their scientific and engineering capabilities, develop their computing and practical workshop skills, study systems engineering and nanofabrication, project and risk management and a range of commercial topics, and receive professional coaching in communication and presentation. An industrial placement and extended study visit will give them experience of the commercial environment and global links in their chosen area, and they will have support and opportunities to break their studies to explore the commercialization of research inventions. A QT Enterprise Club will provide fresh, practical entrepreneurship advice, as well as a forum for local businesses to exchange experience and expertise. The CDT will foster an atmosphere of team working and collaboration, with a variety of group exercises and projects and constant encouragement to learn from and about each other. Students will act as mentors to junior colleagues, and be encouraged to take an active interest in each other's research. They will benefit from the diversity of their peers' backgrounds, across not just academic disciplines but also career stages, with industry secondees and part-time students bringing rich experience and complementary expertise. Students will draw upon the wealth of experience, across all corners of quantum technologies and their underpinning science and techniques, provided by Southampton's departments of Physics & Astronomy, Engineering, Electronics & Computer Science, Chemistry and its Optoelectronics Research Centre. They will be given training and opening credit for the Zepler Institute's nanofabrication facilities, and access to the inertial testing facilities of the Institute of Sound & Vibration research and the trials facilities of the National Oceanography Centre. Our aim is that graduates of the CDT will possess not only a doctorate in the exciting field of quantum technology, but a wealth of knowledge, skills and awareness of the scientific, technical and commercial topics they will need in their future careers to propel quantum technologies to commercial success.

However, access to silicon prototyping facilities remains a challenge in the UK due to the high cost of both equipment and the cleanroom facilities that are required to house the equipment. Furthermore, there is often a disconnect in communication between industry and academia, resulting in some industrial challenges remaining unsolved, and support, training, and networking opportunities for academics to engage with commercialisation activities isn't widespread. The C-PIC host institutions comprising University of Southampton, University of Glasgow and the Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC), together with 105 partners at proposal stage, will overcome these challenges by uniting leading UK entrepreneurs and researchers, together with a network of support to streamline the route to commercialisation, translating a wide range of technologies from research labs into industry, underpinned by the C-PIC silicon photonics prototyping foundry. Applications will cover data centre communications; sensing for healthcare, the environment & defence; quantum technologies; artificial intelligence; LiDAR; and more. We will deliver our vision by fulfilling these objectives: Translate a wide range of silicon photonics technologies from research labs into industry, supporting the creation of new companies & jobs, and subsequently social & economic impact. Interconnect the UK silicon photonics ecosystem, acting as the front door to UK expertise, including by launching an online Knowledge Hub. Fund a broad range of Innovation projects supporting industrial-academic collaborations aimed at solving real world industry problems, with the overarching goal of demonstrating high potential solutions in a variety of application areas. Embed equality, diversity, and inclusion best practice into everything we do. Deliver the world's only open source, fully flexible silicon photonics prototyping foundry based on industry-like technology, facilitating straightforward scale-up to commercial viability. Support entrepreneurs in their journey to commercialisation by facilitating networks with venture capitalists, mentors, training, and recruitment. Represent the interests of the community at large with policy makers and the public, becoming an internationally renowned Centre able to secure overseas investment and international partners. Act as a convening body for the field in the UK, becoming a hub of skills, knowledge, and networking opportunities, with regular events aimed at ensuring possibilities for advancing the field and delivering impact are fully exploited. Increase the number of skilled staff working in impact generating roles in the field of silicon photonics via a range of training events and company growth, whilst routinely seeking additional funding to expand training offerings.