We are a photonics and quantum technology company on a mission to harness the power of light to change the world. Our award-winning laser platforms were designed to help scientists understand more about the world around them, but we’ve grown to become much more than a scientific laser engineering company.
We’re helping to move novel science from the lab and into the real world and we’re dedicated to advancing the global scientific agenda, so that the next generation inherits new technologies and exciting challenges.
We’ve already established ourselves as one of the UK’s most innovative, disruptive technology businesses - recognised by the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and Export Track 100 and awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2016 and International Trade in 2017
We are a leading developer of photonics and quantum technology. We serve scientists, cutting-edge corporations and top universities. From idea, to lab, to real life - we play a part in every step of the journey.
Our light-based applications are used in a number of fields, including quantum technology, biophotonics and chemical sensing. Our products are put to use in a wide-range of sectors including advanced manufacturing, oil and gas research, space technology and the medical sector – where cross-sector partnerships have led to breakthroughs in areas as diverse as dementia research, cancer diagnosis and whiskey maturation.
We’ve spent decades designing and manufacturing laser systems and have expertise in CW to fs, and DUV to THz wavelengths in applications spanning fundamental research to 24/7 semiconductor metrology.
Working closely with customers and partners is important to us. We talk research rather than products first and no matter how challenging the task, we’ll embrace it - we never stop listening, innovating, learning and improving.
Our dedication to helping our customers and partners excel is underpinned by our guiding philosophy ‘Dependable Innovation’ - an approach that ensures we develop transformative products that balance innovative design and best practice production.
Our photonics technology is used by scientists, businesses and universities alike and while no two use cases are exactly the same, we have three core science specialisms for which our tools are regularly utilised.
Laser light plays a fundamental role in quantum research, and M Squared’s technology has been key to helping scientific advancements in this space. Our SolsTiS laser platform offers scientists uniquely compact, fully automated and low-noise systems that have powered a number of breakthroughs at quantum research facilities all over the world. SolsTiS has also been widely recognised as a step up in laser technology, winning an Institute of Physics Innovation Award and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation. M Squared also plays a key role in helping shape the quantum strategy in the UK and Europe.
Laser technology has found many applications in the healthcare sector, enabling everything from biomedical research to medical diagnosis and treatment. M Squared’s Firefly-IR and Sprite XT lasers have proven to be effective tools in areas such as breath analysis, multi-photon and cars microscopy and photoportation. M Squared has not only developed a new imaging application ‘Aurora’ for rapid, high resolution, large 3D volumetric imaging and live cell imaging, we are also working in areas such as quantum imaging - a less expensive and more easily deployed alternative to current medical scanning methods.
Chemical sensor lasers can identify the chemical composition of a substance or gas, even when it’s invisible to the human eye. The M Squared Firefly, mid- IR and THz laser systems, have been key in developing new chemical sensing applications, some of which have been used by the defence, oil and gas and food and drink sectors. By utilising mid-IR and THz wavelengths, the Firefly series is opening the door to practical implementations of laserbased remote sensing.
Collected our second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade on HM the Queen’s birthday 2017.
M Squared named Engineering Company of the Year at the 2017 Made in Scotland Awards held at Glasgow’s Science Centre.
Overall winner in the IP100 Intellectual Property League, compiled by Metis Partners in association with BQ Magazine.
Ranked in The Sunday Times Lloyds SME Export Track 100 league of Britain’s fastest-growing exporters.
M Squared were announced ‘Innovator of the Year’ at the prestigious Amazon Growing Business Awards in 2016.
Crowned winner of the highly prestigious Samsung Innovation Award at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards.
Listed in the 2016 Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 as one of the UK’s fastest growing technology companies.
We collected The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in recognition of our work developing scientific laser technology.
M Squared was founded by Dr Graeme Malcolm OBE and Dr Gareth Maker on May 02, 2006 – a subtle nod to our company name, itself both a reference to the names of the founders and the formula for the multiplication factor in a laser beam’s propagation. Malcolm and Maker set out to create novel laser based solutions for use in innovations and academic research.
Graeme and Gareth met at The University of Strathclyde. Their shared passion led them to co-found their first company Microlase Optical Systems in 1992, a spin out from Strathclyde University. Over time, Microlase and its range of products caught the eye of Coherent Inc., which purchased Microlase in 1999. Graeme continued to lead the newly formed Coherent Scotland during the transition and beyond.
In 2006, the former partners came together and formally launched M Squared to develop a best-in-class laser system that would dramatically improve scientific experimentation. A laser that would be scalable, compact, robust, fully automated and more accurate than existing systems. This idea was realised in the award winning SolsTiS laser platform, which has made a huge difference to scientific studies in quantum technologies worldwide.
Today, M Squared’s photonics platforms are enabling new discoveries and developments. SolsTiS alone has helped lead to significant breakthroughs, including the world’s most accurate clocks, demonstrations of teleportation of information, antimatter experimentation and the construction of ‘ion-drives’ – the next generation of space propulsion.
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M Squared Life