When our research has the potential to impact on industry more widely, we use patents as a means of sharing the benefits of technological innovations.

In December 2021, Physicists David Hillier and David Winter were granted a patent for a technology they originally developed for the Orion laser facility to help it accurately measure signals from a range of beamlines.

Signal strengths can vary from high to lows, and this patent for a “Method and Device for Measuring A Pulse Signal with High Dynamic Range” includes a novel device that replicates a signal so it can be measured across a wide range of levels – known as a high dynamic range.

Hillier explains, “There are a few quirks about Orion that make it tricky to take all the measurements we need. The way we’re set up makes our focal spot evolve slightly throughout the day and we are also constantly changing the laser’s parameters to deliver the huge range of experiments that Orion can field.”

Technology development is always an iterative process, and Winter told us about some of the considerations he had to make while developing the pulse replicator…Read more