Cadmium telluride/Germanium (CdTe/Ge) tandem-junction solar cells for efficiency enhancement in thin-film photovoltaics. The purpose of this project is to improve the efficiency of large-area, thin-film CdTe solar cells by using them in a tandem arrangement with thin-film Ge cells. An increase of 25 per cent in efficiency appears possible, which would greatly improve the prospects for cost-competitive photovoltaic power generation.
Defect engineering in molecular beam epitaxy-grown mercury cadmium telluride. This project aims to develop high quality mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) materials with lower defect density and lower background doping levels. This will enable future, high-performance, lower-cost infrared sensors with the unique features of higher yield, larger array size and higher operating temperature. The project will generate new science and technologies on defect engineering in the epitaxial growth of sem ....Defect engineering in molecular beam epitaxy-grown mercury cadmium telluride. This project aims to develop high quality mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) materials with lower defect density and lower background doping levels. This will enable future, high-performance, lower-cost infrared sensors with the unique features of higher yield, larger array size and higher operating temperature. The project will generate new science and technologies on defect engineering in the epitaxial growth of semiconducting HgCdTe on cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) substrates. This will contribute to the development of core Australian industry sectors such as defence, environmental monitoring, medical imaging, earth remote sensing, mining, and oil and gas.Read moreRead less
Bandgap engineered mercury cadmium telluride heterostructures on gallium antimonide alternative substrates. This project aims to develop bandgap engineered mercury cadmium telluride heterostructures on gallium antimonide alternative substrates to enable high performance lower-cost infrared sensors with high yield, large array size, multiband detection and higher operating temperature. High performance infrared sensors and systems are core enabling technologies in civilian and defence application ....Bandgap engineered mercury cadmium telluride heterostructures on gallium antimonide alternative substrates. This project aims to develop bandgap engineered mercury cadmium telluride heterostructures on gallium antimonide alternative substrates to enable high performance lower-cost infrared sensors with high yield, large array size, multiband detection and higher operating temperature. High performance infrared sensors and systems are core enabling technologies in civilian and defence applications such as remote sensing, environmental monitoring, night vision and national security. This project expects to research into defect generation mechanisms in epitaxial growth of semiconducting mercury cadmium telluride on lattice mismatched substrates. This is expected to contribute to Australian industry sectors, thereby benefiting the Australian economy, society, environment, and national security.Read moreRead less
HgCdSe: A novel II-VI semiconductor material for next generation infrared technologies. High performance infrared sensors and systems represent core technologies in various civilian and defence applications such as remote sensing, environment monitoring, night vision and national security. The goal of this project is to develop new mercury cadmium selenide-based materials on gallium antimonide substrates for future high performance infrared sensors with the unique features of low cost, large arr ....HgCdSe: A novel II-VI semiconductor material for next generation infrared technologies. High performance infrared sensors and systems represent core technologies in various civilian and defence applications such as remote sensing, environment monitoring, night vision and national security. The goal of this project is to develop new mercury cadmium selenide-based materials on gallium antimonide substrates for future high performance infrared sensors with the unique features of low cost, large array size, room temperature operation as well as multiband detection. The outcomes of this project will lead to new science and next generation infrared sensors of benefit to Australian industry and defence technology. Read moreRead less
Frequency standards with breakthrough performance: engineering immunity to local oscillator instabilities using dynamical error suppression. This project aims to dramatically advance state-of-the-art performance of one of the most important technological systems in modern electronics - precision frequency standards. Our work will provide orders of magnitude gains in performance by translating new knowledge from quantum information to the precision metrology research community.
Fluid-Structure Interactions in Flows through Flexible-Walled Channels. This project seeks to deliver a definitive understanding of the behaviour of steady and pulsating fluid flow through compliant-walled channels and pipes. Novel theoretical stability-analyses and experimental investigations, complemented by targeted numerical simulations, will be developed and used to identify and categorise fluid- and wall-based wave-disturbances and their interactions. This can underpin the development of t ....Fluid-Structure Interactions in Flows through Flexible-Walled Channels. This project seeks to deliver a definitive understanding of the behaviour of steady and pulsating fluid flow through compliant-walled channels and pipes. Novel theoretical stability-analyses and experimental investigations, complemented by targeted numerical simulations, will be developed and used to identify and categorise fluid- and wall-based wave-disturbances and their interactions. This can underpin the development of technologies that control these flows to advantage in both engineered fluid-flow and biologically occurring systems. Robust design guidelines will emerge to safeguard and enhance the use of compliant liners and flexible panels for drag and noise reductions, or to protect surfaces exposed to fluid flows. Read moreRead less
New insights into fundamental carrier transport in type-II superlattices. Type-II superlattice (T2SL) based semiconductors have emerged as a rival to well-established HgCdTe-based IR detectors, promising comparable performance at significantly lower cost. T2SLs are complex nanostructures that exhibit multiple-carrier and highly-anisotropic electronic transport properties, which renders them exceedingly challenging to study experimentally. The lack of reliable experimental data has limited optimi ....New insights into fundamental carrier transport in type-II superlattices. Type-II superlattice (T2SL) based semiconductors have emerged as a rival to well-established HgCdTe-based IR detectors, promising comparable performance at significantly lower cost. T2SLs are complex nanostructures that exhibit multiple-carrier and highly-anisotropic electronic transport properties, which renders them exceedingly challenging to study experimentally. The lack of reliable experimental data has limited optimisation and modelling efforts, and thus hampered progress. This project aims to systematically study electronic transport in T2SLs, both experimentally and theoretically, by employing world-leading mobility spectrum techniques developed at UWA and state-of-the art T2SL structures from three world leaders in T2SLs.Read moreRead less
Defect generation in hetero-epitaxy on lattice mismatched substrates. High quality lattice mismatched semiconductor heterostructures are core enabling technologies for next generation electronic and optoelectronic devices with new functions and features such as monolithic integration, lower production costs, larger wafer size, and better system robustness. This project will generate new science on defect generation in lattice mismatched hetero-epitaxy with the aim of developing novel strategies ....Defect generation in hetero-epitaxy on lattice mismatched substrates. High quality lattice mismatched semiconductor heterostructures are core enabling technologies for next generation electronic and optoelectronic devices with new functions and features such as monolithic integration, lower production costs, larger wafer size, and better system robustness. This project will generate new science on defect generation in lattice mismatched hetero-epitaxy with the aim of developing novel strategies for their minimisation. The direct outcome will be higher quality HgCdTe materials on lattice mismatched Si or III-V substrates with defect density low enough for fabricating high performance mid-wave and long-wave infrared arrays with features of lower cost, larger array format size, and higher operating temperature.Read moreRead less
Dark current and noise mechanisms in nBn HgCdTe infrared detectors. Novel mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) nBn (two n-type semiconductors sandwiching a barrier layer) infrared (IR) detectors are theoretically capable of operating at higher temperatures than conventional IR detectors. Their reduced cooling requirements lead to reductions in the size, weight and power of IR imaging systems without loss in IR detection performance. Unfortunately, HgCdTe nBn detectors are currently affected by non ....Dark current and noise mechanisms in nBn HgCdTe infrared detectors. Novel mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) nBn (two n-type semiconductors sandwiching a barrier layer) infrared (IR) detectors are theoretically capable of operating at higher temperatures than conventional IR detectors. Their reduced cooling requirements lead to reductions in the size, weight and power of IR imaging systems without loss in IR detection performance. Unfortunately, HgCdTe nBn detectors are currently affected by non-ideal dark current and noise levels whose physical origins and nature are poorly understood. The proposed experimental and theoretical investigations and optimisations are anticipated to minimise such non-idealities and thus enable the demonstration of HgCdTe nBn IR detectors capable of revolutionising portable IR detection systems for security and rescue applications.Read moreRead less
A fundamental study of electronic transport in advanced semiconductor nanostructures. The principal aim of this project is to attract and retain very high calibre early career researchers by providing them with the best-available infrastructure and research environment, combined with world-class supervision and mentoring. The project brings together an outstanding team of international collaborators, who will work with the early career researchers to ensure that they are trained and mentored at ....A fundamental study of electronic transport in advanced semiconductor nanostructures. The principal aim of this project is to attract and retain very high calibre early career researchers by providing them with the best-available infrastructure and research environment, combined with world-class supervision and mentoring. The project brings together an outstanding team of international collaborators, who will work with the early career researchers to ensure that they are trained and mentored at an international level. The new science, novel characterisation methods, and theoretical models that are outcomes of this project will provide new opportunities and expertise to advance the strategic defence and national security interests of Australia, and the emerging Australian semiconductor device and solar cell industry. Read moreRead less