Routing shapes of light for the next generation of fibre optic networks. In 2016, the United Nations declared access to the Internet as basic human right. Our communication networks are facing a capacity crunch, which will transform a basic human right for everyone into a privilege for a few. This project aims to avoid a capacity crunch by creating innovative solutions for the next generation of optical fibre communication networks. This project stands to generate new knowledge in photonics, opt ....Routing shapes of light for the next generation of fibre optic networks. In 2016, the United Nations declared access to the Internet as basic human right. Our communication networks are facing a capacity crunch, which will transform a basic human right for everyone into a privilege for a few. This project aims to avoid a capacity crunch by creating innovative solutions for the next generation of optical fibre communication networks. This project stands to generate new knowledge in photonics, optical communication and advanced manufacturing. The expected benefits are new academic collaborations, enhancing Australia’s international standing and economic benefit through commercialisation and training of students for the growing photonics industry in Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100714
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$354,000.00
Summary
Shaping light – new frontiers in big fast data. This project aims to address the need for new technologies to tackle the bandwidth overload. Because of the basic human desire to communicate and interact, our society has an exponentially growing Internet data demand. The data capacity crunch is imminent. Data demand is rapidly approaching the nonlinear Shannon limit which governs the maximum data capacity of single-mode optical fibres. Bandwidth limitations may have severe implications for societ ....Shaping light – new frontiers in big fast data. This project aims to address the need for new technologies to tackle the bandwidth overload. Because of the basic human desire to communicate and interact, our society has an exponentially growing Internet data demand. The data capacity crunch is imminent. Data demand is rapidly approaching the nonlinear Shannon limit which governs the maximum data capacity of single-mode optical fibres. Bandwidth limitations may have severe implications for society and economy. This project aims to develop chip-scale mode-multiplexers based on innovative 3D integrated photonics and combine them with optical gain to shape light for space-division multiplexed optical communication networks. This is designed to break through the data capacity limit that currently prevents growth in Internet data rates.Read moreRead less
Teaching old dogs new tricks: making ordinary glass both guide and modulate light in photonic chips. The continued revolution of telecoms, and other industries, by photonics demands active integrated photonics: chips that can switch, modulate and modify light. Currently this requires problematic materials. This project will innovatively combine breakthroughs in two areas: poling and laser writing, to produce active devices in standard silicate glass chips.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100045
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Coherent Laser Links for Space Applications. Coherent laser links for space applications:
This project seeks equipment to establish a deployable, free-space, coherent laser link to enable Australia’s continued leadership and involvement in large-scale international space projects. It would support optical free-space frequency transfer to expand the capability of the European Space Agency’s Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space mission; tests to validate the inter-satellite interferometry acquisition s ....Coherent Laser Links for Space Applications. Coherent laser links for space applications:
This project seeks equipment to establish a deployable, free-space, coherent laser link to enable Australia’s continued leadership and involvement in large-scale international space projects. It would support optical free-space frequency transfer to expand the capability of the European Space Agency’s Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space mission; tests to validate the inter-satellite interferometry acquisition system for the NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment follow-on mission; and test-bed development for advanced coherent optical communications systems. Coherent, free-space laser links are an emerging technology for a range of high-impact research fields. The project would enable research relying on precision measurements of time and frequency; advanced inter-satellite laser interferometry, and coherent free-space optical communications. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100585
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,000.00
Summary
On-chip generation and processing of high-power multi-GHz frequency combs. The project aims to deliver a chip-scale stable optical frequency comb technology with high-power and multi-GHz frequency spacing. The lack of this technology has prevented fundamental advances in wide-ranging applications that require high signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) combs. The project seeks to demonstrate combs using waveguide laser technology and to integrate it with a reconfigurable optical filter to select and proces ....On-chip generation and processing of high-power multi-GHz frequency combs. The project aims to deliver a chip-scale stable optical frequency comb technology with high-power and multi-GHz frequency spacing. The lack of this technology has prevented fundamental advances in wide-ranging applications that require high signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) combs. The project seeks to demonstrate combs using waveguide laser technology and to integrate it with a reconfigurable optical filter to select and process individual comb lines. Key advantages of this technology, including high SNR, reconfigurability, high stability, small footprint and low-cost, are expected to improve astronomy’s ability to detect Earth-like planets, telecommunications to increase the overall internet capacity, and global positioning systems (GPS).Read moreRead less
Creating a national time and frequency network for Australia. This project will develop the means to distribute accurate time and frequency across the Australian continent via an optical fibre network. This network will meet the needs of future telecommunications, science and astronomy projects including the Australian bid for the Square Kilometre Array radio-astronomy project.
Advanced Hybrid Fibres for Functional Biomedical Imaging. This project expects to develop new techniques and devices for biomedical imaging. Biomedical imaging is widely used for medical diagnosis and treatment, with different types of imaging providing different information. This project aims to develop techniques that will allow imaging using safer nonionising terahertz radiation, with better resolution than ever before. It plans to combine this with optical, visible and infrared imaging to gi ....Advanced Hybrid Fibres for Functional Biomedical Imaging. This project expects to develop new techniques and devices for biomedical imaging. Biomedical imaging is widely used for medical diagnosis and treatment, with different types of imaging providing different information. This project aims to develop techniques that will allow imaging using safer nonionising terahertz radiation, with better resolution than ever before. It plans to combine this with optical, visible and infrared imaging to give very broad spectral information. It also aims to develop probes for direct interfacing to tissue to collect and deliver electrical signals, light and fluids, and to image neural activity. The intended outcome of the project is to allow single cancer cells within tissue to be identified to allow early stage cancer detection, and to develop implantable devices for neuroscience research and pain management.Read moreRead less
Silicon-photonic devices harnessing new resonance phenomena. Silicon photonics is emerging as a billion dollar global technology industry and waveguide resonators are among the most crucial building blocks for silicon photonic systems. This project aims to introduce an entirely new class of optical waveguide resonator based on recently discovered unusual coupling behaviour in silicon photonics. The science underpinning this new effect will be investigated and experimentally verified and the myri ....Silicon-photonic devices harnessing new resonance phenomena. Silicon photonics is emerging as a billion dollar global technology industry and waveguide resonators are among the most crucial building blocks for silicon photonic systems. This project aims to introduce an entirely new class of optical waveguide resonator based on recently discovered unusual coupling behaviour in silicon photonics. The science underpinning this new effect will be investigated and experimentally verified and the myriad opportunities for novel device concepts will be explored. The compact resonant structures resulting from this project are expected to offer unprecedented filtering functionality while remaining compatible with silicon photonic mass manufacture, ensuring they can be easily utilised by the broader community.Read moreRead less
Optomechanical refrigeration of electronic circuits. The project aims to apply laser light to reduce the temperature of electronic circuits. This aims to greatly suppress electronic noise, and enable a new class of technologies for future telecommunication systems. By developing new techniques to confine light, electric fields and vibrations at sub-micron scale on a silicon chip, devices such as ultralow noise amplifiers, clocks and radio frequency receivers will be realised, along with ultra-ef ....Optomechanical refrigeration of electronic circuits. The project aims to apply laser light to reduce the temperature of electronic circuits. This aims to greatly suppress electronic noise, and enable a new class of technologies for future telecommunication systems. By developing new techniques to confine light, electric fields and vibrations at sub-micron scale on a silicon chip, devices such as ultralow noise amplifiers, clocks and radio frequency receivers will be realised, along with ultra-efficient optical modulators. In future, these technologies could reduce energy consumption and improve reliability in telecommunication networks. They could improve the range of satellite communication, robustness of GPS against cosmic radiation, and performance of surveillance systems such as radar and sonar.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101535
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$357,000.00
Summary
Smart radio-frequency filter in a tuneable optical circuit. A massive technology gap of high quality tuneable filters in the microwave (1-100 GHz) frequency range is impeding advances towards fully-reconfigurable wireless systems. This project aims to address this limitation and to deliver the world's first reconfigurable microwave filter with unprecedented tuning range, resolution, and selectivity using integrated microwave photonics technology. The project aims to produce the critical filter t ....Smart radio-frequency filter in a tuneable optical circuit. A massive technology gap of high quality tuneable filters in the microwave (1-100 GHz) frequency range is impeding advances towards fully-reconfigurable wireless systems. This project aims to address this limitation and to deliver the world's first reconfigurable microwave filter with unprecedented tuning range, resolution, and selectivity using integrated microwave photonics technology. The project aims to produce the critical filter technology for advanced radio spectrum management and efficient bandwidth utilisation. The project will endeavour to have a profound impact on virtually all high bandwidth microwave systems in key sectors such as wireless communications, defence, and radio astronomy.Read moreRead less