Photonics & Quantum
Simply put, photonics is the science of light: it is the technology of generating, controlling and detecting light waves and photons. There are countless practical applications from fiber-optic communications cables and devices such as smartphones to specialised medical, scientific and lighting technologies.
Precise movement and control with sub-atomic precision are essential for any photonics application. Queensgate’s nanopositioning sensors and stages play a vital role, for example:
- Directly positioning light beams using tip/tilt devices
- Positioning glass fibers to couple with silicon photonic chips
Queensgate products are used extensively in photonics applications such as:
- Point-ahead systems in laser communications
- Testing hard disk drive heads
- Controlling lithography platforms
Recently we have developed a prototype multiuser fiber alignment system for photonics packaging research and development.
Some of the earliest Queensgate projects were in the field of photonics. It was making Fabry-Pérot filters and stabilised Fabry-Pérot interferometers for use on large telescopes from the early 1980s and the nanopositioning technologies developed for these projects built the foundation for Queensgate today.
