Public Funding for Safc Hitech Limited

The public description for this project has been requested but has not yet been received.

Low emissivity glass, sometimes known as 'low E' or 'low energy glass', is playing an increasingly significant role in building energy efficiency. The key feature of this glass technology is a thin coating with a refractive index chosen to enhance the capture of solar energy and reduce heat loss from within the building. There is a significant opportunity to develop new improved 'low E' coatings coupled with more efficient cost effect processes to fabricate them. This project addresses both of these topics by targeting increased performance and reduced cost compared with current low energy glazing. With increasing environmental awareness, more emphasis is now being placed on ways to save energy in any building, domestic or commercial, and Glazing products can play an important role to minimise heat loss from these structures. This heat loss is normally measured by the thermal transmittance or U value and in its most basic terms, the lower the U value, the greater the thermal insulation. Insulating Glass Units incorporating low emissivity glass can significantly improve the Thermal Insulation values hence the improved performance targeted on the project will have a large impact. It is estimated that if all the existing buildings in Europe without low-E glazing were to have it installed to current regulations recently introduced relating to minimum energy efficiency standards, it would save 27-30% of building energy and 140 M Tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The UK has substantial technical and market presence in semiconductor optoelectronics. To remain competitive, significant reductions in cost and power consumption are required, along with increased device functionality. This can be achieved through device integration and reductions in active cooling. ETOE II builds on the success of an existing project (ETOE), which demonstrated the use of new materials (AlInGaAs/InP) in high performance devices operating at high temperatures. ETOE II takes this research forward by addressing devices with higher functionality, eliminating yield hazards in processing complex laser structures based on the new materials and understanding the factors affecting reliability. Radically new materials systems will also be investigated for their long-term potential to improve efficiency at high temperatures whilst retaining industrial process compatibility.

Awaiting Public Summary