Applications in a wide range of markets

The following brief summaries indicate typical areas in which the use of Epigem technology can reap rich rewards.

Consumer electronics
From peripheral components for displays, such as backlight collimation film, diffuser films and colour extraction films, to micro-optics for computer peripherals, polymer microengineering offers limitless potential for optoelectronics applications. Epigem works with many of the leading names in the field, including Hewlett Packard, Philips and CRL.

Retail
Optoelectronics technology can provide 3-D images for POS advertising in shop windows, on counters and in public places. Other applications include instruments for pricing and stock control, systems for product identification and protection, and shelf edge messaging.

Healthcare
Micro-fluid devices for sampling of small volumes of liquids; micro-electrodes for electro-chemical detectors; optical waveguides to deliver light and spectroscopic measurement. From disposable testing products to laboratory instrumentation, we are working to meet the needs of major healthcare product manufacturers, including GlaxoWellcome and Unilever.

Chemical synthesis and analysis
Microengineering of materials provides microreactors and analysis components suited to process intensification and reaction monitoring. Our partners include the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and Kodak.

Communications
Photonic components can play a vital role in optical communications applications. In collaboration with Marconi, Epigem has produced waveguide components for optical fibre networks and optical backplanes in electronics racks. We have also shown how to use free space optical communication links for high speed, highly parallel data links.

Defence
Epigem is a member of the Northern Defence Initiative and supports research programmes of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) at Malvern and Farnborough. We have worked with BAE Systems and Thomson CSF, in the development of optical backplanes for optical data transfer between processor boards.

Special optical effects
Epigem is involved with a number of projects involving the architectural application of optical effects