A new Heriot-Watt University spin-out, FreeForm Photonics, has unveiled a laser-based manufacturing process that embeds sub-micron alignment into optical glass components, aiming to slash the manual calibration that currently accounts for more than half of all photonics production costs.
A new laser manufacturing technology created at Heriot-Watt University is being positioned as a fix for one of the most stubborn bottlenecks in modern photonics production.
Spin-out company FreeForm Photonics plans to commercialise a process that builds passive alignment features directly into optical glass components, cutting out the painstaking manual calibration that today drives more than half of all photonics production costs.
The technique produces components that are faster and cheaper to assemble while maintaining sub-micron precision, far below the width of a human hair, which has historically required expensive active alignment stages.
By embedding alignment into the component itself, the process is designed to remove the complexity that has made advanced photonic systems difficult and expensive to scale beyond low-volume, specialist production.
The university and spin-out team argue that this could have knock-on effects across quantum computing systems, next-generation medical diagnostics and the optical communications infrastructure that underpins the modern internet, all of which rely on photonic assemblies that are still largely hand-built.
Dr Calum Ross, Research Fellow in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, said the approach “fundamentally” changes what it takes to manufacture high-performance optics by integrating passive alignment directly into the glass.
He highlighted potential applications ranging from fibre-optic sensing in harsh industrial environments to the quantum computing systems “the world is racing to build,” reflecting the breadth of markets the team believes could adopt the technology.
The release contrasts the new method with traditional photonics assembly, which typically depends on either painstaking manual adjustment or costly active alignment rigs, each introducing additional time, expense and risk at multiple points in the production line.
FreeForm Photonics has removed that dependency by encoding precision into the components from the outset, so alignment happens at manufacture rather than during final system assembly.
To accelerate commercialisation, FreeForm Photonics has secured support from Scottish Enterprise’s High Growth Spinout Programme, backing that is intended to help create a scalable company structure and prepare the business for seed investment.
Derek Shaw, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, described the firm as “a great example” of Scotland’s innovation ecosystem turning cutting-edge research into global opportunity, arguing that its technology could transform photonics manufacturing and support advances in quantum, healthcare and communications.
He said Scottish Enterprise’s support is focused on strengthening the company’s commercial approach and getting it investment-ready, with a view to backing its global growth ambitions over time.
The company is entering a global photonic components market valued at close to 1 billion dollars in 2024 and forecast to grow sharply, according to the release.
More than 100 industry leaders and prospective customers have already assessed the technology, with strong stated interest in adopting it at medium-volume production scale.
Trial samples are being supplied to customers in aerospace, telecommunications and healthcare, signalling early traction across several of the sectors the spin-out is targeting.
Professor Gillian Murray, Deputy Principal for Enterprise and Business at Heriot-Watt University, said FreeForm Photonics shows how the university can turn pioneering research into commercial impact.”
She added that through entrepreneurial programmes and business support, the university aims to strengthen Scotland’s innovation ecosystem and build high-growth companies that can compete globally. FreeForm Photonics is the kind of high-growth business than can do exactly that.
