James Sharp

Biography

James Sharp is currently working as a Lecturer in the Department of Engineering

Research Interest

Single-Crystal Fibres We currently have two facilities for the production of single crystal and optical fibres. Our work has focused mainly on refractory oxide materials such as sapphire, YAG, zirconia and some orthosilicates. Fibres are grown using the laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG) method which allows us to work with a very wide range of materials. Fibre Sensors for Extreme Environments Fibre sensors capable of working in extreme environments unsuitable for conventional sensor technologies including (glass) optical fibre sensors are being developed. High melting point materials such as sapphire and yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) are radiation hard and have excellent chemical robustness making them ideal for this application: e.g. sensors for temperature sensing in combustion systems (e.g. aircraft engine management) and in high dose nuclear settings. Fibre gratings, polarimetry, piezo-spectroscopic and fluorescence lifetime measurements have all be used as transduction mechanisms. Scintillating Fibres for Radiation Detection and Imaging Fibres of rare-earth doped orthosilicates have been produced for use as highly efficient radiation sensors. Application areas include high energy particle detection and medical imaging systems. Fibre Laser and Upconversion Sources Erbium doped materials have been grown, characterised and tested for fibre laser and upconversion applications. Ongoing work will examine other rare-earth species such as ytterbium, holmium, and thulium.