A history of high-power laser research and development in the United Kingdom

Danson, Colin N.; White, Malcolm; Barr, John R.M.; Bett, Thomas; Blyth, Peter; Bowley, David; Brenner, Ceri; Collins, Robert J.; Croxford, Neal; Dangor, A.E. Bucker; Devereux, Laurence; Dyer, Peter E.; Dymoke-Bradshaw, Anthony; Edwards, Christopher B.; Ewart, Paul; Ferguson, Allister I.; Girkin, John M.; Hall, Denis R.; Hanna, David C.; Harris, Wayne; Hillier, David I.; Hooker, Christopher J.; Hooker, Simon M.; Hopps, Nicholas; Hull, Janet; Hunt, David; Jaroszynski, Dino A.; Kempenaars, Mark; Kessler, Helmut; Knight, Sir Peter L.; Knight, Steve; Knowles, Adrian; Lewis, Ciaran L.S.; Lipton, Ken S.; Littlechild, Abby; Littlechild, John; Maggs, Peter; Malcolm, Graham P.A.; Mangles, Stuart P.D.; Martin, William; McKenna, Paul; Moore, Richard O.; Morrison, Clive; Najmudin, Zulfikar; Neely, David; New, Geoff H.C.; Norman, Michael J.; Paine, Ted; Parker, Anthony W.; Penman, Rory R.; Pert, Geoff J.; Pietraszewski, Chris; Randewich, Andrew; Rizvi, Nadeem H.; Seddon, Nigel; Sheng, Zheng-Ming; Sl...

Abstract

The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years.

Citation

Danson, C. N., White, M., Barr, J. R., Bett, T., Blyth, P., Bowley, D., Brenner, C., Collins, R. J., Croxford, N., Dangor, A. B., Devereux, L., Dyer, P. E., Dymoke-Bradshaw, A., Edwards, C. B., Ewart, P., Ferguson, A. I., Girkin, J. M., Hall, D. R., Hanna, D. C., Harris, W., …Winstone, T. (2021). A history of high-power laser research and development in the United Kingdom. High Power Laser Science and Engineering, 9, Article e18. https://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2021.5

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 26, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Apr 27, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: May 24, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 25, 2021
• Journal: High Power Laser Science and Engineering
• Print ISSN: 2095-4719
• Electronic ISSN: 2052-3289
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Article Number: e18
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2021.5
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1242063