The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has made a breakthrough in optical viewport technology improvements which could be vital to improving capabilities in fusion energy and quantum physics research.

The agency has delivered on a government grant to reduce optical distortion by up to 75%, which was pointed out as an important aspect and barrier to measuring trapped atoms for the purposes of fusion and quantum research.

As a vital part of its research into fusion energy, UKAEA’s Special Techniques Group (STG), has built expertise in producing high-performance optical viewports used on fusion machines.

UKAEA’s Special Techniques Group, supported by the UK Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) – Knowledge Asset Grant Fund – recently completed Project Solace, to further enhance viewport performance for other sectors such as quantum physics.

Project Solace focused on gathering expert feedback from optical viewport users about what parameters are important to them and developing new modelling tools to optimise new viewport designs to meet these requirements.

The feedback from quantum physics customers was that optical flatness of viewports was most important to reduce distortion of measurements coming from trapped atoms. Customers also appreciated UKAEA’s Special Techniques Group’s custom engineering which enables customisation of viewport shapes to fit microscopes, magnets and other instrumentation.

Following the development of the new modelling tools, the Group engaged Frazer Nash Consultancy to evaluate multiple viewport design options and identified opportunities to reduce optical distortion by up to 75 percent compared to baseline design.

Commenting on the funding, Alison Campbell, CEO of the UK government Office for Technology Transfer, said: “I’m delighted that the Knowledge Asset Grant Fund has been able to support UKAEA to expand the application of its unique technology, delivering value to its customers.

“The fund, and our work in GOTT, is focussed on helping organisations across government, such as UKAEA, realise the value and impact from exploiting their expertise and Knowledge Assets. We look forward to continuing to support the project as it develops.”

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Tim Bestwick, deputy CEO for the UKAEA, said: “The unique technical challenges posed by fusion research has driven UKAEA’s Special Techniques Group to develop optical viewports that operate under extreme conditions with minimal optical distortion, and we have been able to prove these in fusion experiments.

“The team now plans to design and produce ultra-low distortion optical viewport designs for the next generation of quantum computers and sensors.”

These designs will be available for different sectors and global markets, including aerospace, beam-line science and high-power laser applications, to provide solutions to manufacturing challenges.