UltraWeld Project

The ULTRAWELD Project received funding from the Innovate UK Research and Innovation Collaborative R&D Programme under Project Ref. 103763.

Project UltraWELD will develop photonic based processes for highly dissimilar material joining in manufacturing of complex electro optics devices for defence/aerospace applications and OLED lighting. Ultrafast (i.e. pico- or femto-second pulsed) laser welding of glass to metals is proposed as an alternative to other bonding techniques that currently fail to provide a satisfactory solution on demanding requirements for device hermetic sealing and suffer from device degradation due to outgassing of volatile components in adhesives. We will develop new ultrafast laser processes for dissimilar material joining (microwelding) and also design and build a flexible custom laser prototype machine capable of applications development to demonstrate such laser microwelding in key selected real devices at TRL level 6. The project will directly benefit all five industry partners by enabling early adoption of this technology from end users, to enhance product competitiveness by increasing reliability and in-service lifetime and reduce cost of ownership.