Meta-microscopy of insect tissue: How nature grows bicontinuous nanosolids. Several butterfly species grow a complex nano-sculptured matrix whose chiral network structure confers remarkable optical properties, including jewel-like reflections. The formation process remains mysterious and a spectacular case of bottom-up self-assembly at far larger scales than accessible in the lab. The project aims to decipher this process, by (a) tomography of a species where arrested growth sites represent time ....Meta-microscopy of insect tissue: How nature grows bicontinuous nanosolids. Several butterfly species grow a complex nano-sculptured matrix whose chiral network structure confers remarkable optical properties, including jewel-like reflections. The formation process remains mysterious and a spectacular case of bottom-up self-assembly at far larger scales than accessible in the lab. The project aims to decipher this process, by (a) tomography of a species where arrested growth sites represent time-frozen snapshots of the development, and (b) by a combination of micron-resolved in-vivo microscopy of a developing butterfly wing with a growth model to infer nanometer-scale information. This insight will lead to blueprints for self-assembly strategies and shed light on function and form of inner-cellular membranes. Read moreRead less
Theory and synthesis of self-assembled polyfunctional supramolecular fibres and associated soft materials. Liquid crystals (LCs) and molecular fibres are essential structural and functional components of living systems. A new class of hybrid materials, combining LC and fibrous aspects, will be developed, based on self-assembly of 'linactants', invented by the CI and colleagues.
Advanced photonics with flexible pixels in liquid crystals. Similar to conventional pixels in liquid-crystal displays, the localised micro-defects in liquid crystalline structure can be generated by laser beams and immersed particles. The project will create such reconfigurable, or flexible, pixels for efficient control of optical signals underpinning the development of advanced photonic devices.
Optical-spin coupling in the nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond. Australia has made investment in the developing area of quantum information processing where information is stored and processed by manipulating the spin states in solids. One of the most promising materials for this purpose is diamond incorporating nitrogen-vacancy colour centres. The appeal with this material is that the processing can be faster and components smaller as the spins can be controlled by laser beams. This project in ....Optical-spin coupling in the nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond. Australia has made investment in the developing area of quantum information processing where information is stored and processed by manipulating the spin states in solids. One of the most promising materials for this purpose is diamond incorporating nitrogen-vacancy colour centres. The appeal with this material is that the processing can be faster and components smaller as the spins can be controlled by laser beams. This project investigates the control of spin with light to obtain optimum performance.Read moreRead less
Self-assembled semiconductor nanocrystals as functional materials for microelectronics, optoelectronics and photonics. This project will study an important new class of nanoscale materials (semiconductor nanocrystals) with the aim of understanding the processes and mechanisms responsible for their structure and properties. It will have direct application to microelectronics, optoelectronics and photonics; will provide world-class training for Australia's future scientists and engineers in mater ....Self-assembled semiconductor nanocrystals as functional materials for microelectronics, optoelectronics and photonics. This project will study an important new class of nanoscale materials (semiconductor nanocrystals) with the aim of understanding the processes and mechanisms responsible for their structure and properties. It will have direct application to microelectronics, optoelectronics and photonics; will provide world-class training for Australia's future scientists and engineers in materials science and nanotechnology; and will further strengthen international scientific collaboration in these field.Read moreRead less
Nanoclusters with Extraordinary Properties Made out of Ordinary Materials. Ultrafast laser deposition - a process pioneered by the Applicants - has already demonstrated record yields in the production of carbon-based nano-clustered materials with better control over the size of the nano-particles than any other process. This project aims to improve fundamental understanding of the ultra-fast laser deposition method of nano-fabrication through theoretical and experimental studies, which accurate ....Nanoclusters with Extraordinary Properties Made out of Ordinary Materials. Ultrafast laser deposition - a process pioneered by the Applicants - has already demonstrated record yields in the production of carbon-based nano-clustered materials with better control over the size of the nano-particles than any other process. This project aims to improve fundamental understanding of the ultra-fast laser deposition method of nano-fabrication through theoretical and experimental studies, which accurately correlate the ablation conditions to the structural, electronic, magnetic and optical properties of resulting nano-particles. The results will be applied to efficiently produce nano-clustered materials with tuneable properties for a wide range of new technologies such as spintronics, biophotonics, and nanoclinics.Read moreRead less
High-energy electron scattering of surfaces: new spectroscopies and new physics. Electrons sometimes behave as particles, and sometimes as waves. Both aspects are used when investigating nano-structures with electron beams. In this research program we design and perform experiments to measure sample composition using the particle nature, and the atom positions by using the wave nature of electrons. These novel experiments, using unique spectrometers designed and developed in Australia, are aime ....High-energy electron scattering of surfaces: new spectroscopies and new physics. Electrons sometimes behave as particles, and sometimes as waves. Both aspects are used when investigating nano-structures with electron beams. In this research program we design and perform experiments to measure sample composition using the particle nature, and the atom positions by using the wave nature of electrons. These novel experiments, using unique spectrometers designed and developed in Australia, are aimed at making new forms of electron microscopy possible, but will also result in a better understanding of existing electron microscopies and synchrotron-based measurements.Read moreRead less
Synchrotron radiation techniques applied to melting and resolidification at a nanometric scale. By delivering underpinning knowledge of melting characteristics of nanoparticles, the proposal seeks results that can lead to breakthrough applications in advanced materials engineering. Measurements of the liquid nanoparticle structure performed at the Australian Synchrotron are unprecedented and are thus likely to include the development of new methodology. National and international exposure of Aus ....Synchrotron radiation techniques applied to melting and resolidification at a nanometric scale. By delivering underpinning knowledge of melting characteristics of nanoparticles, the proposal seeks results that can lead to breakthrough applications in advanced materials engineering. Measurements of the liquid nanoparticle structure performed at the Australian Synchrotron are unprecedented and are thus likely to include the development of new methodology. National and international exposure of Australian science and the Australian Synchrotron will have both scientific and economic ramifications. Involvement of students will contribute to developing the local synchrotron knowledge base and is beneficial to the Australian synchrotron-research community as a whole.Read moreRead less
Charge transport and trapping in high-k dielectric films containing self-assembled nanocrystals. Growth in the use of portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, iPods, MP3-players and personal digital assistants (PDA's) has resulted in increased demand for low-power, high-density Flash memory. However, existing memory devices are difficult to scale to smaller dimensions and lower power without severely compromising reliability. This project will investigate the synthesis and properties ....Charge transport and trapping in high-k dielectric films containing self-assembled nanocrystals. Growth in the use of portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, iPods, MP3-players and personal digital assistants (PDA's) has resulted in increased demand for low-power, high-density Flash memory. However, existing memory devices are difficult to scale to smaller dimensions and lower power without severely compromising reliability. This project will investigate the synthesis and properties of a new class of materials that have the potential to overcome these limitations. Read moreRead less
Ultrafast photonic hammer: A new strategy to synthesise super-dense super-hard nanomaterials. We will develop a new way for laboratory synthesis of new classes of super-hard and super-dense materials at and above the extremely high temperature and density range currently accessible only in nuclear explosions. The ability of ultra-fast laser-induced phase transformations will be exploited aiming to form materials with exotic properties, which are theoretically predicted, but has not experimental ....Ultrafast photonic hammer: A new strategy to synthesise super-dense super-hard nanomaterials. We will develop a new way for laboratory synthesis of new classes of super-hard and super-dense materials at and above the extremely high temperature and density range currently accessible only in nuclear explosions. The ability of ultra-fast laser-induced phase transformations will be exploited aiming to form materials with exotic properties, which are theoretically predicted, but has not experimentally confirmed yet. Our new approach will have a profound interdisciplinary impact. The project will deliver underpinning knowledge, foremost practical expertise, and the prominent training of young researchers to secure Australia's international position among the leaders in the rapidly growing and competitive field of nanotechnology.Read moreRead less