CLF Technology Transfer

Technology Transfer

The CLF has a strong background in innovation, technology transfer and spin-out companies - our current patent portfolio represents almost a third of STFC's active patents. STFC’s top two inventors work in the CLF.

Scanning for new Intellectual Property is an ongoing activity. Several new inventions, from diverse fields such as adaptive optics, micro-target manipulation and molecular imaging are currently under review.

Cobalt Light Systems Ltd
Cobalt Light Systems uses a method invented at the CLF for identifying the chemical composition underneath the surface of materials, including beneath the skin and liquids in bottles.
L3 Technology Ltd
STFC patented technology forms the basis of spinout company L3 Technology Ltd (L3T) founded to develop the concept for medical applications.
Laser tweezers
CLF was requested and funded by ICI to develop laser tweezers for fundamental measurements of colloidal forces related to commercially relevant products such as paints.
OPCPA
A paradigm shift technology pioneered both theoretically and experimentally at CLF, Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification (OPCPA) has permitted high power lasers to break the 1PW ceiling limit and reach new levels of extreme powers.
Pulse contrast enhancement
We recently filed a new patent concerning the use of transmission gratings to significantly enhance pulse contrast in high power laser systems.
Scitech Precision Ltd
Scitech Precision Ltd was setup in 2009 capitalising on several decades of accumulated CLF expertise in the fabrication of specialist micro-targets for high power laser experiments.