Manipulation and Shaping of Light in the Far-Field using Advanced Fresnel Fibres. This project will focus on developing and understanding further the recent invention of the Fresnel fibre, which is designed to overcome diffraction from the end of an optical fibre. More sophisticated designs and combinations will allow arbitrary shaping of the optical field exiting an optical fibre for numerous applications. The physical basis for such phenomena to be realised is the efficient degree of coherent ....Manipulation and Shaping of Light in the Far-Field using Advanced Fresnel Fibres. This project will focus on developing and understanding further the recent invention of the Fresnel fibre, which is designed to overcome diffraction from the end of an optical fibre. More sophisticated designs and combinations will allow arbitrary shaping of the optical field exiting an optical fibre for numerous applications. The physical basis for such phenomena to be realised is the efficient degree of coherent scattering possible in air-material fibre such as air-silica photonic crystal fibres. In conjunction advanced characterisation techniques will be developed.Read moreRead less
Hypersensitisation and Patterned Photosensitivity in Glass. Recent developments involving holographically patterned photosensitivity in glass-based optical waveguides developed by our group can be extended to fabricate complex two-dimensional structures including planar waveguide photonic bandgap devices for applications in telecommunications, sensing and signal processing. These will include novel grating-array based 2-D DFB lasers and filters in rare-earth doped planar waveguides. Novel etchin ....Hypersensitisation and Patterned Photosensitivity in Glass. Recent developments involving holographically patterned photosensitivity in glass-based optical waveguides developed by our group can be extended to fabricate complex two-dimensional structures including planar waveguide photonic bandgap devices for applications in telecommunications, sensing and signal processing. These will include novel grating-array based 2-D DFB lasers and filters in rare-earth doped planar waveguides. Novel etching techniques to be used to enhance index contrast, as well as to characterise such devices, will be developed based on our recent observation of hydrogen-enhanced etching of glass. Such methods could potentially be applicable to not only photonic technologies but also semiconductor lithography of oxides.Read moreRead less
Microfluidic photonic systems. Australia is set to reap commercial benefits nationally and internationally from new developments in the highly competitive domain of microtechnology. In this project, a group of Australia's leading researchers propose an innovative combination of two exciting fields of scientific research. Microfluidics is the manipulation of minute quantities of liquids in microscopic channels, while photonics is the generation, transmission, detection and analysis of light as a ....Microfluidic photonic systems. Australia is set to reap commercial benefits nationally and internationally from new developments in the highly competitive domain of microtechnology. In this project, a group of Australia's leading researchers propose an innovative combination of two exciting fields of scientific research. Microfluidics is the manipulation of minute quantities of liquids in microscopic channels, while photonics is the generation, transmission, detection and analysis of light as a means to convey, collect and process information. The marriage of these two fields promises the development of novel, high performance tunable devices for sensing, biotechnology and telecommunications.Read moreRead less
Semiconductor Photonic Crystal Devices. Photonic crystals will be a key element of future all-optical ultra-highspeed photonic integrated circuits for telecommunications and signal processing. This project will pioneer new structures capable of manipulating light on integrated photonic chips, based on nano-scale features in semiconductors. This will have a significant impact on Australia's photonics industry.
Slow light in nonlinear photonic crystals: less haste, more speed. The development of communications is vital to Australia's future. Our project will enable both massive improvements of the performance of the communication technologies and significant reductions in the cost and size of the associated infrastructures. The resulting benefits will contribute to developing the economy and lifestyle of rural and regional Australia. The expansion of a faster network throughout the country will eventua ....Slow light in nonlinear photonic crystals: less haste, more speed. The development of communications is vital to Australia's future. Our project will enable both massive improvements of the performance of the communication technologies and significant reductions in the cost and size of the associated infrastructures. The resulting benefits will contribute to developing the economy and lifestyle of rural and regional Australia. The expansion of a faster network throughout the country will eventually enable advanced techniques and services such as remote surgery, remote engineering and distance education. We will provide advanced training for three students who will gain valuable skills in this area that will be sought after by the Australian information and communication technology industry. Read moreRead less