Glasgow, Scotland – A partnership between the UK's defense research agency, DERA (Malvern, England), and the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, has spawned The Crystal Consortium Ltd (TCC). The new company has been formed by the amalgamation of the crystal growth programs and teams from the two organizations. The objective of TCC is to facilitate the transition of crystal research into development and production, and to act as a focus for national and international collaboration.
The company is currently operating from the university campus, in what was the Optical Materials Research Center, and has taken over most of the crystal growth equipment from its two parents. Key personnel have also transferred in from the parent companies. Financial support for TCC was received from Scottish Enterprise (Glasgow, Scotland).
The single-crystals that TCC is working with are wide ranging, and include piezoelectric crystals, scintillator crystals, and optoelectronic crystals such as lithium niobate, potassium niobate, zinc germanium phosphate, and cadmium telluride. The development aim is to eliminate defects, improve homogeneity, and increase production yields. While TCC will concentrate on developing materials and processes, the company also has pilot production capability. Collaboration with Thermo Hilger Crystals (Margate, England) has been established to develop a range of advanced infrared, scintillation, and optoelectronic materials.