Novel 2-photon atom manipulation for ultra-nanoscale processing of diamond. There is intense interest in exploiting diamond's remarkable properties in many fields of science and technology, but fabricating and processing devices remains a major challenge. This project will build on previous work, using a recently discovered novel laser-induced surface phenomenon that enables, for the first time for any material, the exciting prospect of using light to manipulate surface atoms with atomic precis ....Novel 2-photon atom manipulation for ultra-nanoscale processing of diamond. There is intense interest in exploiting diamond's remarkable properties in many fields of science and technology, but fabricating and processing devices remains a major challenge. This project will build on previous work, using a recently discovered novel laser-induced surface phenomenon that enables, for the first time for any material, the exciting prospect of using light to manipulate surface atoms with atomic precision. This project aims to elucidate the mechanisms underpinning the optical interaction to reveal its full potential and use it to address key problems in diamond nano-device fabrication that lie beyond the reach of current techniques. It is expected that the outcomes will directly enhance Australia's current strengths in diamond-based quantum and photonic technologies.Read moreRead less
It’s a fine line: analytical and experimental optimisation of drawing metal-in-dielectric nanowire composites to manufacture engineered metamaterials. Exploitation of ‘smart materials’ is a major opportunity for 21st century Australian manufacturing if cost effective bulk production is available. Metamaterials are ideal building blocks for such new-age materials, being dielectric/metal composites structured on sub-wavelength dimensions, offering diverse properties unavailable in natural material ....It’s a fine line: analytical and experimental optimisation of drawing metal-in-dielectric nanowire composites to manufacture engineered metamaterials. Exploitation of ‘smart materials’ is a major opportunity for 21st century Australian manufacturing if cost effective bulk production is available. Metamaterials are ideal building blocks for such new-age materials, being dielectric/metal composites structured on sub-wavelength dimensions, offering diverse properties unavailable in natural materials. Fibre drawing is a proven mass-production technology for translating the structure of a (macroscale) preform to microscale and has recently been applied it to fabricate microscale metamaterials. By overcoming fundamental instabilities, this project will transform the technique to manufacture nanoscale structured composites and demonstrate practical metamaterial-based optical devices with unique properties.Read moreRead less
An integral approach enabling the defect-free manufacture of microlens arrays. Free-form microlens arrays are of central importance to the advancement of science and frontier technologies such as electronics, optics, telecommunication, biotechnology, medical surgery, energy generation, agriculture, resource exploration, environment protection and security. Using an integral approach coupling processing-microstructure-property modelling, multi-scale mechanics and damage-free mould development. Th ....An integral approach enabling the defect-free manufacture of microlens arrays. Free-form microlens arrays are of central importance to the advancement of science and frontier technologies such as electronics, optics, telecommunication, biotechnology, medical surgery, energy generation, agriculture, resource exploration, environment protection and security. Using an integral approach coupling processing-microstructure-property modelling, multi-scale mechanics and damage-free mould development. This research project will establish novel theories and technologies for the defect-free manufacture of microlens arrays. The research outcomes will lay the foundation for defect-free fabrication of a wide class of high-integrity systems.Read moreRead less
3D integrated crystalline UV optical lens-fiber couplers for astronomy. This project aims to create micro-optics for astronomical and bio medical applications by 3D sculpturing them out of crystals by ultra-short pulse lasers. This project will introduce a new 3D fabrication approach of optical probes which have self-aligned micro-optical elements and optical fibres for a wide spectral range and with high quality optical surfaces. Expected outcomes of this project include building new capabiliti ....3D integrated crystalline UV optical lens-fiber couplers for astronomy. This project aims to create micro-optics for astronomical and bio medical applications by 3D sculpturing them out of crystals by ultra-short pulse lasers. This project will introduce a new 3D fabrication approach of optical probes which have self-aligned micro-optical elements and optical fibres for a wide spectral range and with high quality optical surfaces. Expected outcomes of this project include building new capabilities in micro-optical probes for industrial environments, establishing new solutions for international astronomy partners, and developing new techniques to image through optical fibres. This should provide significant benefits by improving astronomical instrumentation and also lead to less invasive endoscopy.Read moreRead less