Insider Brief
FreeForm Photonics is commercializing a Heriot-Watt University-developed laser manufacturing process that embeds alignment features directly into optical glass components, aiming to reduce costs and complexity in photonics production.
The technology eliminates the need for much of the manual calibration and active alignment currently required in photonics assembly, enabling sub-micron precision and potentially lowering a major cost driver that accounts for more than half of production expenses.
The company has secured support through Scottish Enterprise’s High Growth Spinout Programme, is preparing for seed investment, and is already supplying trial samples to customers in aerospace, telecommunications, and healthcare while targeting applications in quantum computing, medical diagnostics, and optical communications.
PRESS RELEASE — A new technology created by Heriot-Watt University is poised to upend one of the most stubborn bottlenecks in modern manufacturing.
