Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0345794
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
Spectroscopic Imaging Ellipsometry for Opto-VLSI Engineering and Nanotechnology Applications. The focus for implementation of spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry is to create a powerful optical analysis and characterisation tool to complement the advanced integrated circuit test facilities within Western Australia. This infrastructure will facilitate the integration of the fields of materials research, new device technologies, integrated circuit technology, nanotechnology and photonics in the exp ....Spectroscopic Imaging Ellipsometry for Opto-VLSI Engineering and Nanotechnology Applications. The focus for implementation of spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry is to create a powerful optical analysis and characterisation tool to complement the advanced integrated circuit test facilities within Western Australia. This infrastructure will facilitate the integration of the fields of materials research, new device technologies, integrated circuit technology, nanotechnology and photonics in the expanding field of Opto-VLSI. The proposed equipment is being built upon targeted research in VLSI, and will create an additional platform for innovations in microelectronic technology applicable to the communications, information technology, energy generation, security, and biomedical fields.Read moreRead less
Investigation of vertical magneto-transport in infrared detector structures based on InAs/GaSb type-II superlattices. Infrared sensors and systems are finding increasing use in Australia's core industries: particularly defence, mineral exploration, environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, homeland security, and medical diagnostics. Due to the reduced cooling requirements, the Infrared detector structures to be investigated in this project have the potential to deliver high performance in ....Investigation of vertical magneto-transport in infrared detector structures based on InAs/GaSb type-II superlattices. Infrared sensors and systems are finding increasing use in Australia's core industries: particularly defence, mineral exploration, environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, homeland security, and medical diagnostics. Due to the reduced cooling requirements, the Infrared detector structures to be investigated in this project have the potential to deliver high performance infrared technology at a significantly lower cost and, hence, widening its applications. The new science proposed in this project, and new technological knowledge expected from its application, will allow Australian researchers to participate and significantly contribute to the international effort in this field and to exploit any developed intellectual property. Read moreRead less
High-speed bidirectional optical interconnects for board-to-board communications. The project will contribute directly to Australia's participation in various ICT industries through the development of innovative solutions and will increase the knowledge and skills base in silicon-photonics. The development of the proposed board-to-board high-speed optical interconnect prototypes will result in R&D outcomes well-matched to the needs and interests of Australian companies; this project will assist ....High-speed bidirectional optical interconnects for board-to-board communications. The project will contribute directly to Australia's participation in various ICT industries through the development of innovative solutions and will increase the knowledge and skills base in silicon-photonics. The development of the proposed board-to-board high-speed optical interconnect prototypes will result in R&D outcomes well-matched to the needs and interests of Australian companies; this project will assist Australia to capitalise on new technology and to become a significant player in the next ICT boom. This project will put Australia at the cutting edge of high-speed interconnect technology and will generate income through licensing the technology and the establishment of spin-off opportunities in both Australia and off-shore.Read moreRead less
Infrared optoelectronic sensors based on p-type molecular beam epitaxy grown HgCdTe. The ability of infrared detectors to directly sense the thermal output of an object has applications in medicine, search and rescue, bushfire detection and in the defence and surveillance industries. The highest performing infrared detectors are photon detectors based molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown HgCdTe. The primary aims of this project relate to the fundamental understanding of p-type doping in MBE grown ....Infrared optoelectronic sensors based on p-type molecular beam epitaxy grown HgCdTe. The ability of infrared detectors to directly sense the thermal output of an object has applications in medicine, search and rescue, bushfire detection and in the defence and surveillance industries. The highest performing infrared detectors are photon detectors based molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown HgCdTe. The primary aims of this project relate to the fundamental understanding of p-type doping in MBE grown HgCdTe, a current and major difficulty in HgCdTe technology, and the use of such p-type MBE grown layers in conjunction with a newly developed plasma process based n-p junction formation technology to realise novel and innovative infrared detector structures. Such structures would have the ability to revolutionise the use of HgCdTe in infrared detectors and focal plane array applications.Read moreRead less
New multiplexed optical read-out technologies for micromachined cantilever sensor arrays. Passive sensing of chemical and biological agents is an essential capability in fields as diverse as national security, agriculture, mining and medicine. In many cases, generic sensing (e.g. are there pesticides present) as well as specific sensing (which pesticide) are both important. While sensors based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) have shown extremely high performance at low cost, they have ....New multiplexed optical read-out technologies for micromachined cantilever sensor arrays. Passive sensing of chemical and biological agents is an essential capability in fields as diverse as national security, agriculture, mining and medicine. In many cases, generic sensing (e.g. are there pesticides present) as well as specific sensing (which pesticide) are both important. While sensors based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) have shown extremely high performance at low cost, they have been limited to detection of a specific substance. Success in this project will make low cost generic MEMS-based sensors a reality, allowing, for the first time, wide-spread use of sensitive sensing systems in applications such as farming, container transport security, general medical practice and national security.Read moreRead less
New generation of hyperspectral infrared photon detectors. Although highly desirable for many applications, tuneable, on chip, infrared photon detectors are not yet available. The approach described in this application aims to develop a technology for high performance, on chip, infrared photon detectors that can be tuned over a wide wavelength range. By applying a novel in-house developed semiconductor process and a multi-disciplinary approach, this project aims to develop such devices by combin ....New generation of hyperspectral infrared photon detectors. Although highly desirable for many applications, tuneable, on chip, infrared photon detectors are not yet available. The approach described in this application aims to develop a technology for high performance, on chip, infrared photon detectors that can be tuned over a wide wavelength range. By applying a novel in-house developed semiconductor process and a multi-disciplinary approach, this project aims to develop such devices by combining, for the first time, micromachined tuneable optical microcavities with high performance HgCdTe-based infrared detectors.Read moreRead less
Imaging of properties of coherent elastic light scattering from turbid biological media. Imaging with coherent, elastically-scattered light for visualisation of thick-tissue morphology in vivo, or of cells buried deep in a turbid medium, remains a major challenge. We adopt an alternative approach of imaging of properties of light scattering based on regarding cellular tissue as a spatially-varying refractive-index continuum which encodes scattered light. We propose new methodologies to infer t ....Imaging of properties of coherent elastic light scattering from turbid biological media. Imaging with coherent, elastically-scattered light for visualisation of thick-tissue morphology in vivo, or of cells buried deep in a turbid medium, remains a major challenge. We adopt an alternative approach of imaging of properties of light scattering based on regarding cellular tissue as a spatially-varying refractive-index continuum which encodes scattered light. We propose new methodologies to infer tissue state and morphology indirectly based on phase delay, speckle, and angle-resolved scattering. We will break new ground in correlating the structure and function of in situ epithelial tissue and cells to light scattering enabling, e.g., the detection of mitosis and apoptosis in cells buried in thick, turbid media, and of cancers and precancers in vivo.Read moreRead less
Techniques for probing biological media with holographic angular scattering spectroscopy. Huge effort in the biological and medical sciences is spent in using simple software to laboriously mark, count and measure cells and structures in microscope images of samples. We could replace this incredibly inefficient process in many instances with single-shot size-map images of unstained samples. If depth selectivity can be added, we could perform non-invasive measurements on animals, making a huge re ....Techniques for probing biological media with holographic angular scattering spectroscopy. Huge effort in the biological and medical sciences is spent in using simple software to laboriously mark, count and measure cells and structures in microscope images of samples. We could replace this incredibly inefficient process in many instances with single-shot size-map images of unstained samples. If depth selectivity can be added, we could perform non-invasive measurements on animals, making a huge reduction in their usage. We could assess thick tissues enabling early noninvasive diagnosis of malignancy in tumours in situ or muscle characterization for meat quality or muscular dystrophy. These benefits impact on research, animal ethics, and on health, and have commercial potential in life and medical sciences, and the meat industry.Read moreRead less
Advances in optical coherence tomography. We propose to continue our research into the biomedical imaging technique of optical coherence tomography by making substantial new advances in the key areas of ultra-broad bandwidth operation, coincident confocal gate scanning, and dispersion compensation. These advances are aimed at improving resolution to the 1-5 micron range, which should allow a breakthrough to sub-cellular in vivo imaging, making visible sample histology in situ, which is currentl ....Advances in optical coherence tomography. We propose to continue our research into the biomedical imaging technique of optical coherence tomography by making substantial new advances in the key areas of ultra-broad bandwidth operation, coincident confocal gate scanning, and dispersion compensation. These advances are aimed at improving resolution to the 1-5 micron range, which should allow a breakthrough to sub-cellular in vivo imaging, making visible sample histology in situ, which is currently not possible. We also plan to make advances in the key area of scanning delay line technology by employing acousto-optics in OCT for the first time. Acousto-optics conveys advantages in no-moving-parts, scan-speed and accuracy.Read moreRead less
Coherent optical tissue biopsy and analysis targeting muscle pathology. This international, interdisciplinary collaborative research should change the way structures in tissues are characterised with broad impact on health, biotechnology, and the meat industry. Specific benefits include: a large reduction in the time/effort required for the ubiquitous process of histology of muscle and other tissue sections and samples; a large reduction in the number of animals required in experimentation and ....Coherent optical tissue biopsy and analysis targeting muscle pathology. This international, interdisciplinary collaborative research should change the way structures in tissues are characterised with broad impact on health, biotechnology, and the meat industry. Specific benefits include: a large reduction in the time/effort required for the ubiquitous process of histology of muscle and other tissue sections and samples; a large reduction in the number of animals required in experimentation and the possibility of time sequential studies of the same animal; and in muscular dystrophy in humans, a new capability in the direct assessment of muscle tissue and the disease treatment and progression. This suite of advances should generate intellectual property of major commercial importance.Read moreRead less