Research
Warwick Laser Machining
Our laser machining facility consists of two Oxford Lasers systems: the E-Series (34 ns, 355 nm Nd:YAG) and the A-Series (15 ns, 532 nm Nd:YAG), both fitted with high-resolution CNC stages. These systems are capable of drilling, cutting and milling a wide variety of materials with high precision.
Applications: Sectioning wafers; cutting thin metal sheets; milling surface features; mask fabrication; machining complex geometries; surface roughening; materials that are difficult to machine by other methods.
Engineered Diamond Technologies
Diamond is the epitome of a multi-functional material with applications in thermal, optical, sensing, electrochemistry and quantum. This Prosperity Partnership between Element Six (E6) and the University of Warwick (UW) seeks to develop the next generation of technologies that are enabled through exploitation of the amazing combination of extraordinary properties that diamond offers.
Surface Analysis
My previous research focussed on surface analysis; XPS, SIMS, AFM/FFM.
Below: SIMS species mapping for a partial fingerprint.
Contact Mechanics
My PhD research developed Friction Force Microscopy (FFM) as a quantitative tool for the characterisation of surfaces. The solvent environment was found to influence the contact mechanics of tip-sample interactions; in ethanol (high dielectric constant) the friction force varies linearly with the load, in perfluorodecalin (low dielectric constant) adhesion-limited behaviour is observed and the dependence is non-linear.
C. R. Hurley and G. J. Leggett, Langmuir (2006), 22, 4179-4184.
Surface Fabrication
Fabrication of sub-micron biomolecular patterns in plasma polymerised tetraglyme films using a scanning near-field optical microscope coupled to a UV laser. Selective adsorption of proteins occurs in the exposed regions allowing us to control the placement of proteins with applications in molecular diagnostics.
C. R. Hurley, R. E. Ducker, G. J. Leggett and B. D. Ratner, Langmuir (2010), 26, 10203–10209.
“Fabrication of Sub-Micron Biomolecular Patterns by Near-Field Exposure of Plasma-Polymerized Tetraglyme Films”