Developing New Clocks for Australia: Testing the Assumptions of Modern Physics. Clocks lie at the heart of all precise measurement devices; for example, they are the crucial elements in modern navigation and telecommunications systems. This project will develop three new clocks for Australia: a laser clock at the leading edge of technology, a novel and compact clock with commercial potential, and a microwave clock for use in the next generation of satellites. The performance advantage conferre ....Developing New Clocks for Australia: Testing the Assumptions of Modern Physics. Clocks lie at the heart of all precise measurement devices; for example, they are the crucial elements in modern navigation and telecommunications systems. This project will develop three new clocks for Australia: a laser clock at the leading edge of technology, a novel and compact clock with commercial potential, and a microwave clock for use in the next generation of satellites. The performance advantage conferred by our new devices can deliver economic benefits while also giving the possibility for scrutinizing the laws of physics for evidence that there is something beyond our present formulation.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347140
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$208,000.00
Summary
Picosecond optical probing and characterization of infrared and visible devices. The facility consists of a laser to generate short infrared pulses, and an oscilloscope and detectors to measure such pulses. It will be used to characterize and investigate a new generation of novel optical fibre devices and microstructures, which are to form the basis of the next generation of telecommunications systems, and also novel and unique laser types. The research and development of all of these devices ar ....Picosecond optical probing and characterization of infrared and visible devices. The facility consists of a laser to generate short infrared pulses, and an oscilloscope and detectors to measure such pulses. It will be used to characterize and investigate a new generation of novel optical fibre devices and microstructures, which are to form the basis of the next generation of telecommunications systems, and also novel and unique laser types. The research and development of all of these devices are receiving external funding (or are in negotiations therefore). The facility allows for high-speed and high-accuracy data acquisition, which makes it unique in Australia.Read moreRead less
Novel multi-channel and nonlinear Bragg grating devices. High capacity and reliable telecommunications links are essential for many aspects of modern life and work. Optical fibres offer essentially unlimited capacity, but their optimal use requires the transmission of multiple wavelength channels simultaneously. This, in turn, requires the development of special-purpose fibre devices for multiplexing and de-multiplexing these channels, as well as for other optical filtering and switching tasks. ....Novel multi-channel and nonlinear Bragg grating devices. High capacity and reliable telecommunications links are essential for many aspects of modern life and work. Optical fibres offer essentially unlimited capacity, but their optimal use requires the transmission of multiple wavelength channels simultaneously. This, in turn, requires the development of special-purpose fibre devices for multiplexing and de-multiplexing these channels, as well as for other optical filtering and switching tasks. Fibre Bragg gratings are central to many of these devices, and the aim of this project is to develop novel designs for linear and nonlinear Bragg grating devices which may significantly widen the current range of their applications.Read moreRead less
Photonic Crystals and Microstructured Optical Fibres for Device Applications. Photonic crystals and microstructured optical fibres, which are amongst the most exciting fields of modern optics and photonics, are set to underpin developments in the next generation of ultrahigh-bandwidth communications systems, the functionalities of which will be truly all-optical. This project will bring together of two leading research groups in these areas, enhancing their collaboration, complementing their ex ....Photonic Crystals and Microstructured Optical Fibres for Device Applications. Photonic crystals and microstructured optical fibres, which are amongst the most exciting fields of modern optics and photonics, are set to underpin developments in the next generation of ultrahigh-bandwidth communications systems, the functionalities of which will be truly all-optical. This project will bring together of two leading research groups in these areas, enhancing their collaboration, complementing their expertise, and enabling them to develop new theoretical and computational tools to facilitate device applications. The program will coordinate research over a broad front and bring real benefits to young researchers in both France and Australia.Read moreRead less
Frozen linear and nonlinear light. Frozen light refers to the observation that light inside particular media can be much brighter than outside it, essentially because it bounced around many times before leaving. Such light has many advantages which have applications in optical signal processing, lasers, and in other optical devices. Until now frozen light has only been studied in a small range of geometries and only at low intensities. In this fundamental research project we will investigate fr ....Frozen linear and nonlinear light. Frozen light refers to the observation that light inside particular media can be much brighter than outside it, essentially because it bounced around many times before leaving. Such light has many advantages which have applications in optical signal processing, lasers, and in other optical devices. Until now frozen light has only been studied in a small range of geometries and only at low intensities. In this fundamental research project we will investigate frozen light, its generation and its properties at low and high intensities, systematically, and we will assess how it can be harnessed for potential applications.Read moreRead less
Light-matter interactions in microstructured optical waveguides for nonlinear optical signal processing. The challenge of conceiving and constructing the necessary components and devices for the next generation of lightwave telecommunications systems is a profound one. This issue is urgent as the current operating principles of switches, filters and sources and other devices simply do not allow for the upgrade to the extremely high data transmission speeds that will be required. Using glass opti ....Light-matter interactions in microstructured optical waveguides for nonlinear optical signal processing. The challenge of conceiving and constructing the necessary components and devices for the next generation of lightwave telecommunications systems is a profound one. This issue is urgent as the current operating principles of switches, filters and sources and other devices simply do not allow for the upgrade to the extremely high data transmission speeds that will be required. Using glass optical fibres as the starting point, we will devise, demonstrate and analyze these novel components, leveraging microstructured optical fibre technology and novel fabrication techniques, which are among the most recent developments in optical fibre research.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775668
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$210,000.00
Summary
Direct write - microphotonics fabrication facility. Direct write-microfabrication, where an ultrafast laser is focussed to a small, intense spot and translated under computer control with respect to a target sample, has emerged as a significant enabling technology creating new opportunities in microphotonics. The proposed facility will enable researchers to modify the internal properties of glass blocks and write 'optical wires' (or waveguides). By combining waveguides with other laser written f ....Direct write - microphotonics fabrication facility. Direct write-microfabrication, where an ultrafast laser is focussed to a small, intense spot and translated under computer control with respect to a target sample, has emerged as a significant enabling technology creating new opportunities in microphotonics. The proposed facility will enable researchers to modify the internal properties of glass blocks and write 'optical wires' (or waveguides). By combining waveguides with other laser written functional components researchers will develop devices capable of processing optical information. Outcomes will include demonstrations of compact lasers and slow light generation.Read moreRead less
Optical parametric amplifiers with exceptional qualities using highly nonlinear optical fibre. Current optical fibre networks use only a fraction of their capacity. This is in part because optical amplifiers with enough bandwidth do not exist. However, it will soon become necessary to exploit all of this capacity. This project will create a new highly nonlinear optical fibre with very low loss and tailored dispersion properties. This will then be used to make an optical fibre parametric ampli ....Optical parametric amplifiers with exceptional qualities using highly nonlinear optical fibre. Current optical fibre networks use only a fraction of their capacity. This is in part because optical amplifiers with enough bandwidth do not exist. However, it will soon become necessary to exploit all of this capacity. This project will create a new highly nonlinear optical fibre with very low loss and tailored dispersion properties. This will then be used to make an optical fibre parametric amplifier with a world record bandwidth, which will enable the full capacity of optical fibre to be exploited.Read moreRead less
Multi-Soliton Complexes. This project aims to investigate phenomena related to multi-soliton complexes in optics. Solitons have the potential of high speed data transmission across the world. Their use in telecommunications requires various component and extensive knowledge of their properties. Multisoliton complexes are essential in future devices for high speed information processing and transmission. We expect that our proposed study would provide essential information regarding the propertie ....Multi-Soliton Complexes. This project aims to investigate phenomena related to multi-soliton complexes in optics. Solitons have the potential of high speed data transmission across the world. Their use in telecommunications requires various component and extensive knowledge of their properties. Multisoliton complexes are essential in future devices for high speed information processing and transmission. We expect that our proposed study would provide essential information regarding the properties of multisoliton complexes and their application in practice.Read moreRead less
Light-matter interactions using optical fibres. This program will allow Australia to build on established excellence in photonics to extend the impact of optical fibres beyond telecommunications to applications throughout the sciences. Pioneering work on materials and structures will form a platform technology enabling innovations in areas as diverse as water quality monitoring and corrosion detection. In addition, new optical fibres will be developed for the needs of the Australian Defence Forc ....Light-matter interactions using optical fibres. This program will allow Australia to build on established excellence in photonics to extend the impact of optical fibres beyond telecommunications to applications throughout the sciences. Pioneering work on materials and structures will form a platform technology enabling innovations in areas as diverse as water quality monitoring and corrosion detection. In addition, new optical fibres will be developed for the needs of the Australian Defence Force and associated industries. Fibre-based approaches to problems in biology will ultimately lead to an improved understanding of molecular structures and new tools for manipulating biomolecules.Read moreRead less