Nonlinear topological photonics . The rapidly growing demands of information processing have launched a race for compact optical devices transmitting signals without losses. Topological phases of light provides unique opportunities to create new photonic systems with functionalities and efficiencies well beyond current capabilities. This project aims to develop new ways to generate and guide light at the nanoscale by merging fundamental concepts of nonlinear photonics and topological physics. Th ....Nonlinear topological photonics . The rapidly growing demands of information processing have launched a race for compact optical devices transmitting signals without losses. Topological phases of light provides unique opportunities to create new photonic systems with functionalities and efficiencies well beyond current capabilities. This project aims to develop new ways to generate and guide light at the nanoscale by merging fundamental concepts of nonlinear photonics and topological physics. The outcomes of this project will result in experimental demonstration of the world-first, highly efficient, compact, and lossless nonlinear photonic devices for advanced optical technologies.Read moreRead less
Producing optimally short pulses at long wavelengths. This project aims to make the fluoride glass fibre platform the preferred material for generating ultrashort pulses at 2.8 nm and beyond. High power and efficiency from simple device architectures are essential for industry, medicine and defence. Modern sources of short pulses of light emitting mid-infrared wavelengths are complicated and inefficient. This project will improve fibre sources emitting short pulses and create the essential build ....Producing optimally short pulses at long wavelengths. This project aims to make the fluoride glass fibre platform the preferred material for generating ultrashort pulses at 2.8 nm and beyond. High power and efficiency from simple device architectures are essential for industry, medicine and defence. Modern sources of short pulses of light emitting mid-infrared wavelengths are complicated and inefficient. This project will improve fibre sources emitting short pulses and create the essential building blocks for future all-fibre arrangements that will be more robust. The sources are expected to have applications in non-linear optics and materials modification.Read moreRead less
Ultraprecise sensing with microcavity optomechanics. New technologies will be developed to observe nanoscale motion with light confined on a silicon chip. Based on advances in integrated photonics and nanofabrication, these technologies will enable microscale magnetic field, mass, and gas sensing with precision surpassing today’s state-of-the-art. Important proof-of-principle applications will be realised, including ultrasensitive monitoring of greenhouse emissions, hydrogen absorption into fuel ....Ultraprecise sensing with microcavity optomechanics. New technologies will be developed to observe nanoscale motion with light confined on a silicon chip. Based on advances in integrated photonics and nanofabrication, these technologies will enable microscale magnetic field, mass, and gas sensing with precision surpassing today’s state-of-the-art. Important proof-of-principle applications will be realised, including ultrasensitive monitoring of greenhouse emissions, hydrogen absorption into fuel cell materials, space communication technologies, and magnetic resonance techniques for diagnosis of disease and airport security. The capacity to observe microscopic processes with record precision will further enable fundamental studies in areas such as condensed matter physics and photosynthesis.Read moreRead less
Catching the fast waves: high speed RF sensing using Brillouin scattering. This project aims to develop a room temperature approach to fast sensing of microwave electromagnetic waves by harnessing stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), simultaneously achieving high frequency range, high resolution and high-speed performance. This project expects to generate new knowledge in microwave photonics and SBS, specifically elucidating the transient temporal response of SBS. Expected outcomes of this pro ....Catching the fast waves: high speed RF sensing using Brillouin scattering. This project aims to develop a room temperature approach to fast sensing of microwave electromagnetic waves by harnessing stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), simultaneously achieving high frequency range, high resolution and high-speed performance. This project expects to generate new knowledge in microwave photonics and SBS, specifically elucidating the transient temporal response of SBS. Expected outcomes of this project include a proof of concept RF sensor that has multi-Gigahertz real-rime instantaneous bandwidth with high-resolution that can be miniaturized on to a chip. This compact RF sensor, will play a vital role for situational awareness in space, defence and communications applications. Read moreRead less
Harnessing opto-acoustic interactions for on-chip optical isolation. The project aims to develop practical on-chip photonic isolators – one-way optical circuits – by harnessing light–sound interactions in a nanoscale platform novel in its materials, design and mechanism. The project should develop new nanofabrication techniques and transform understanding of the physics of one-way photonic processes. Expected outcomes include enhanced design and fabrication capabilities for photonic circuits, ul ....Harnessing opto-acoustic interactions for on-chip optical isolation. The project aims to develop practical on-chip photonic isolators – one-way optical circuits – by harnessing light–sound interactions in a nanoscale platform novel in its materials, design and mechanism. The project should develop new nanofabrication techniques and transform understanding of the physics of one-way photonic processes. Expected outcomes include enhanced design and fabrication capabilities for photonic circuits, ultra-compact, high-performance optical isolators and circulators that shield sensitive optical components, and a suite of theoretical tools for describing propagation and noise in these devices. These new high performance photonic circuits should benefit telecommunications, radar, defence, and sensing applications. Read moreRead less
Photon-sorting nanopixels for multispectral & polarisation-resolved imaging. Recent years have seen staggering growth in the prevalence of digital cameras. Conventional digital cameras are designed to mimic the response of the human eye, and therefore record the intensities of three spectral channels: red, green and blue (RGB). This project aims to harness recent advances in nano-optics for the realisation of a new generation of digital cameras. Rather than performing simple colour (RGB) imaging ....Photon-sorting nanopixels for multispectral & polarisation-resolved imaging. Recent years have seen staggering growth in the prevalence of digital cameras. Conventional digital cameras are designed to mimic the response of the human eye, and therefore record the intensities of three spectral channels: red, green and blue (RGB). This project aims to harness recent advances in nano-optics for the realisation of a new generation of digital cameras. Rather than performing simple colour (RGB) imaging, these will be capable of multispectral and polarisation-resolved imaging, whose richer information will be beneficial for applications from medical diagnostics to industrial quality control. These capabilities will be enabled by optical nanostructures that deflect light in a wavelength- and polarisation-dependent manner.Read moreRead less
Breaking the glass ceiling: silicon-nitride (SiN) and doped silica glass for ultra high speed Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible optical processing and measurement chips. The global internet demands for energy and technology will soon be unsustainable. This project will pioneer faster, cheaper, far smaller, and more energy efficient optical signal processing and measurement chips compatible with silicon CMOS technology, for applications in telecommunications, silicon integ ....Breaking the glass ceiling: silicon-nitride (SiN) and doped silica glass for ultra high speed Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible optical processing and measurement chips. The global internet demands for energy and technology will soon be unsustainable. This project will pioneer faster, cheaper, far smaller, and more energy efficient optical signal processing and measurement chips compatible with silicon CMOS technology, for applications in telecommunications, silicon integrated circuits, and fundamental science.Read moreRead less