Abstract:
Nano-fabrication of user defined periodic nano-patterns over a large area needs to overcome optical diffraction limit of the laser beam as well as achieve high production rate for it to be practically feasible for engineering applications such as functional surfaces and metamaterials.  This presentation summarizes the recent work by the author’s research team in the development of a scanning particle lens array system for parallel laser fabrication of user defined periodic micro/nano patterns at a 10s of million “identical” patterns simultaneously over a large area on both flat and curved surfaces.  By reversing the optical path, super-resolution imaging of nano-structures (well beyond the optical diffraction limit) has been realized and applied to both engineering and biomedical imaging. This is one of the most powerful optical microscopes in the world having. 

Biography
Professor Lin Li holds a chair of laser engineering, Director of Laser Processing Research Centre and Director of Research in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering of The University of Manchester UK. He has over 550 publications in peer reviewed SCI journals and conference proceedings and 47 patents related to laser processing. He has been elected to Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), Fellow of International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP), Fellow of Institute and Technology (IET), and Fellow of Laser Institute of America (LIA). He serves on the editorial boards of 10 international journals and is a director of Laser Institute of America, member of executive committee of Association of Laser Users (AILU) and chairman of process and product innovations group of AILU. Professor Li received Sir Frank Whittle Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK in 2013 for his outstanding and sustained achievements in engineering innovations in manufacturing that has led to wide commercial applications in the aerospace, automotive, medical, energy and security industries. He has been the chairman of 36th and 37th MATADOR international conferences on advanced manufacturing. Professor Li obtained his BSc degree in electrical engineering from Dalian University of Technology in 1982 and a PhD in laser engineering from Imperial College, London in 1989.  His work has been reported by BBC and New York Times.