St Andrews' School of Physics and Astronomy

The long-term goal is to undertake a revolutionary science-to-technology programme in modern opto-electronics, said Professor Miller.

This would contribute to the development of the next generation of ultra-high speed communications can be developed.

The team will focus on schemes which take advantage of digital optics, an area in which St Andrews has earned a global reputation.

Professor Wilson Sibbett, the research director, said the work would be centred around the exploitation of specialist laser systems pioneered at St Andrews.

"It will also build upon leading research in semi-conductor and polymer materials being carried out in the Schools of Physics and Chemistry.

"The university's expertise in these research fields has undoubtedly been crucial in attracting this funding," he added.

New laboratories

The research will be carried out within state-of-the-art laboratories on the campus.

A designated area will be developed to house additional laboratories, administration space and a conference suite.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with five partner universities - Bristol, Imperial College, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and Sheffield.

Seven major industrial partners are also taking part - Agilent (formerly Hewlett-Packard), Marconi, Nortel Networks, JDS-Uniphase, Kymata, Sharp and Vitesse.