Covesion to develop enabling components for advanced metrology technology

Covesion Ltd. are pleased to announce their participation in a Eurostars funded project (E! 114926) to develop a new generation of advanced metrology technology for mid-infrared (MIR) laser sources. The project is conducted in the framework of the European funding programme Eurostars, an EU programme that supports research-performing SMEs to develop innovative products, processes, and services, to gain competitive advantage. As a U.K. partner, Covesion is funded through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the national funding agency investing in science and research across the UK.

The programme will involve a partnership between Covesion, Highfinesse Laser and Electronic Systems GmbH and The Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM. The collaborating partners will combine their experience and industry knowledge to design and develop ‘Next generation Wavelength Meters for the mid-Infrared Enabled by Upconversion in Waveguides’ (NeW-VIEUW).

“We are excited to start work on NeW-VIEUW,” comments Professor Corin Gawith, CTO at Covesion. “These novel wavelength meters will be driven by Covesions’s frequency up-conversion capability and will enable measurements of MIR lasers with record-high precision, speed and sensitivity. Mid-infrared analytics are a key factor towards sensitive measurement and control systems in industry, medicine and environmental monitoring, and MIR laser sources form their backbone. Advanced metrology with simultaneous leaps in speed, sensitivity, and resolution will boost scientific progress, laser engineering and benefit industrial applications.”

Current highest-precision metrology instruments are restricted to visible and near-infrared wavelengths. The technology demonstrator system of a wavelength meter operating in the range of 2.5 to 5 µm, being developed by Covesion and the collaborating partners, will feature frequency resolution, acquisition rates and power detection limits that surpass the current state of the art technology by an order of magnitude.

Mike Day, CEO at Covesion says “We are on an exciting journey here at Covesion. As with many scientific R&D programmes, ours has two key elements to it, researching the capabilities of our PPLN technology and then translating this capability into making an impact in real world applications. The NeW-VIUEW project will allow us to focus on the latter, ensuring PPLN is not just a useful laboratory tool but has broader applications in the field.”

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