Yb-doped laser crystal glued on a diamond heat-sink

Marwan Abdou Ahmed of IFSW secures new EIC Pathfinder project “FAST”

23. Januar 2026

No, they’re not “scare quotes”! The project is called Functionalised Activated Sapphire Thin-disk – “FAST” for short, and approved with due time and process.

Breakthrough technology and disruptive innovation at IFSW in collaboration with ORC, University of Southampton

Congratulations to Marwan Abdou Ahmed for securing, as initiator and partner, the Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder project FAST. It will be coordinated by Dr. Jacob Mackenzie of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), University of Southampton.

A novel optically active crystal: rare-earth doped sapphire

Our Pathfinder science-to-technology breakthrough targets a paradigm shift for fabricating a novel optically active crystal – rare-earth (RE) doped sapphire.

Funded by the European Innovation Council, EIC Pathfinder aims to take breakthrough deep tech projects forward. This fundamental research involves a high degree of scientific and technological ambition and risk, with the potential to create a new market – i.e. a technology readiness level (TLR) of 1 to 4.

Get more details and context from the European Commission's Fact Sheet about FAST – DOI: 10.3030/101257260.

The project starts on July 1, 2026. Keep an eye on the IFSW vacancies page for the job descriptions in the coming weeks!

Yb-doped laser crystal glued on a diamond heat-sink
Yb-doped laser crystal glued on a diamond heat-sink
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Marwan Abdou Ahmed

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