Programming anisotropy into responsive soft materials. The project aims to generate viscoelastic soft materials with programmable anisotropy using aqueous suspensions of colloidal rods that have tunable surface coatings. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the rheology and structural characteristics of this unique class of materials. A key innovation is the use of charge-directed polymer self-assembly to control colloidal interactions, suspension rheology and phase behaviour. The in ....Programming anisotropy into responsive soft materials. The project aims to generate viscoelastic soft materials with programmable anisotropy using aqueous suspensions of colloidal rods that have tunable surface coatings. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the rheology and structural characteristics of this unique class of materials. A key innovation is the use of charge-directed polymer self-assembly to control colloidal interactions, suspension rheology and phase behaviour. The intended outcome is spatial control over the orientation of nanostructures, potentially mimicking the structural hierarchy found in nature. This should provide significant benefits to the creation of viscoelastic materials with complex rheology as well as structural, mechanical and optical heterogeneity.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100160
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
Distributed ultra-fast optical clocks for terabit/s communications. The project aims to enable experiments with full spectrum occupation for transmission over field-deployed optical fibre. Future optical communication systems will have to use the full available spectral bandwidth and advanced multiplexing and modulation to achieve ultimate data capacity over a fibre link. To realistically test such links, experiments must be performed over "real-world" fibre links. By linking three telecoms rese ....Distributed ultra-fast optical clocks for terabit/s communications. The project aims to enable experiments with full spectrum occupation for transmission over field-deployed optical fibre. Future optical communication systems will have to use the full available spectral bandwidth and advanced multiplexing and modulation to achieve ultimate data capacity over a fibre link. To realistically test such links, experiments must be performed over "real-world" fibre links. By linking three telecoms research laboratories, the project will create a close collaboration optical network that enables this research. Anticipated outcomes are the opportunity to conduct research over field-deployed fibre links and to prototype and test communication technology over real-world links, creating a simplified path to commercialisation.Read moreRead less
Low-energy electro-photonics: novel materials, devices and systems. This project aims to develop low-power technologies for programming and tuning photonic integrated circuits (PICs). By replacing thermal tuning, the project will reduce power consumption from watts to milliwatts, which also eliminates the thermal crosstalk that limits the complexity of today's PICs. The expected outcome will be the basis for a generic field-programmable photonic chip, which can be used to rapidly prototype desig ....Low-energy electro-photonics: novel materials, devices and systems. This project aims to develop low-power technologies for programming and tuning photonic integrated circuits (PICs). By replacing thermal tuning, the project will reduce power consumption from watts to milliwatts, which also eliminates the thermal crosstalk that limits the complexity of today's PICs. The expected outcome will be the basis for a generic field-programmable photonic chip, which can be used to rapidly prototype designs for production as full custom chips as part of a new Australian industry capability. The expected benefits will be a faster innovation cycle, greater adoption of photonic technologies, and support of research into, for example, neuromorphic optical processing, and advanced communications and sensing systems.Read moreRead less
Transmission beyond linear capacity in fibre optics. This project aims to develop the concept and demonstrate the practicality of a new fibre optic communication technology that allows data transmission rates beyond currently accepted fundamental limits. This project aims to design and demonstrate the feasibility and practicality of utilising nonlinear modes of data transmission. This would assist in the management of fibre impairments that fundamentally limit further increase in data rate causi ....Transmission beyond linear capacity in fibre optics. This project aims to develop the concept and demonstrate the practicality of a new fibre optic communication technology that allows data transmission rates beyond currently accepted fundamental limits. This project aims to design and demonstrate the feasibility and practicality of utilising nonlinear modes of data transmission. This would assist in the management of fibre impairments that fundamentally limit further increase in data rate causing the capacity crunch problem. This is expected to present Australia with leading edge technology to compete in the area of high-speed, high-capacity communication, which is the backbone of our economy, heath, education, social participation, and security.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100752
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Fully-integrated fibre-based platform for a quantum information network. This project aims to combine Australia’s pioneering work developing specialised atom-filled optical fibres with world-leading quantum information storage protocols to probe the extreme limits of atom-light interactions. This will enable the creation of a compact, robust and modular node to efficiently store and process packets of optical quantum information. The node will integrate directly with current communications infra ....Fully-integrated fibre-based platform for a quantum information network. This project aims to combine Australia’s pioneering work developing specialised atom-filled optical fibres with world-leading quantum information storage protocols to probe the extreme limits of atom-light interactions. This will enable the creation of a compact, robust and modular node to efficiently store and process packets of optical quantum information. The node will integrate directly with current communications infrastructure, enabling the creation of a quantum Internet - the vital missing ingredient needed to overcome experimental hurdles that limit quantum technologies. This project is expected to enable the rapid uptake of quantum technology, boosting Australia’s capacity in this burgeoning field.Read moreRead less
Enhanced Through-Wall Imaging using Bayesian Compressive Sensing. The aim of this project is to develop radar imaging techniques which enable us to 'see' objects behind walls and opaque materials. The major intended breakthrough is the ability to image objects behind walls and inside buildings or enclosed structures without accessing the scene. Novel signal and image processing algorithms, based on Bayesian compressive sensing, will be developed to enhance image quality and resolution, improve s ....Enhanced Through-Wall Imaging using Bayesian Compressive Sensing. The aim of this project is to develop radar imaging techniques which enable us to 'see' objects behind walls and opaque materials. The major intended breakthrough is the ability to image objects behind walls and inside buildings or enclosed structures without accessing the scene. Novel signal and image processing algorithms, based on Bayesian compressive sensing, will be developed to enhance image quality and resolution, improve speed of operation, and reduce the cost and time of data acquisition and processing. Many applications are expected to benefit from this research including search and rescue, surveillance, security, and defence. The research outcomes are expected to enhance the capabilities of the Australian armed forces, counter-terrorism, police and law-enforcement agencies.Read moreRead less
Rainbows on demand: coherent comb sources on a photonic chip. This project aims to create photonic circuit technologies that will generate hundreds of coherent laser lines from a single chip. The emerging industrially scalable silicon nitride on thin-film lithium niobate platform will be advanced to create resonant modulators and nonlinear waveguides with unprecedented efficiency and innovative monitoring and control techniques. When combined, these components will enable highly flexible and rob ....Rainbows on demand: coherent comb sources on a photonic chip. This project aims to create photonic circuit technologies that will generate hundreds of coherent laser lines from a single chip. The emerging industrially scalable silicon nitride on thin-film lithium niobate platform will be advanced to create resonant modulators and nonlinear waveguides with unprecedented efficiency and innovative monitoring and control techniques. When combined, these components will enable highly flexible and robust systems for generating a comb of coherent laser lines. These photonic chip comb sources will be inexpensive, compact and energy efficient with transformative impact in spectroscopy, microscopy, precision measurement, quantum computing and ultra-fast optical fibre communications.Read moreRead less
Brillouin processing for carrier recovery in optical communications. This project aims to apply Brillouin processing to the development of an innovative, self-tracking optical filter for isolating optical carriers in the coherent receiver of future ultrahigh bit-rate optical communication systems. By recovering a needle-like optical carrier with great precision from a drifting sea of wide-band noise and data channels, the project expects to minimise the effect of optical carrier distortions on t ....Brillouin processing for carrier recovery in optical communications. This project aims to apply Brillouin processing to the development of an innovative, self-tracking optical filter for isolating optical carriers in the coherent receiver of future ultrahigh bit-rate optical communication systems. By recovering a needle-like optical carrier with great precision from a drifting sea of wide-band noise and data channels, the project expects to minimise the effect of optical carrier distortions on the data-carrying signals. The project should advance knowledge in optical signal processing and communications technologies, with outcomes that increase the data-carrying capacity of optical networks. Future telecommunication networks should benefit through improved transmission rates and extended fibre links.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101297
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$429,000.00
Summary
A novel, dictionary-free, multi-contrast MRI method for microscopic imaging. This project aims to develop a novel quantitative imaging technique for comprehensive in vitro and in vivo tissue characterisation on the microscopic scale. The technology innovated in the project could revolutionise microscopic imaging techniques by breaking through the sub-millimetre image resolution bottleneck of current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the e ....A novel, dictionary-free, multi-contrast MRI method for microscopic imaging. This project aims to develop a novel quantitative imaging technique for comprehensive in vitro and in vivo tissue characterisation on the microscopic scale. The technology innovated in the project could revolutionise microscopic imaging techniques by breaking through the sub-millimetre image resolution bottleneck of current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the emerging field of biological imaging and to deliver an integrated imaging platform for mapping various tissue microscopic components at the cellular level. Successful outcomes have the potential for commercialisation and will accelerate a range of fundamental science and engineering studies requiring imaging techniques.Read moreRead less
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