Better vibrations: controlling light with sound in semiconductor chips. Combining new concepts in the theory of nonlinear optics with advanced experiments, this project aims to develop smart waveguides that bind sound and light tightly together. Laser light and sound waves seem worlds apart, but in the right conditions we can make them interact: sound can change the colour of light. Harnessing this control of light in tiny waveguides on semiconductor chips would enable the development of unique ....Better vibrations: controlling light with sound in semiconductor chips. Combining new concepts in the theory of nonlinear optics with advanced experiments, this project aims to develop smart waveguides that bind sound and light tightly together. Laser light and sound waves seem worlds apart, but in the right conditions we can make them interact: sound can change the colour of light. Harnessing this control of light in tiny waveguides on semiconductor chips would enable the development of unique and useful optical devices, but trapping sound in chips is tremendously difficult. By exploiting untapped material properties, the project seeks to break limits on the freedom and strength of interactions between light and sound. Project outcomes may establish a new class of optical chips for optical sensing and analysis in fields from security to communications to the biosciences.Read moreRead less
Putting stimulated Brillouin scattering to work: tailored optical-phononic interactions for on-chip signal processing. Light interacts with sound via a phenomenon called Brillouin scattering, an effect which is of major importance in modern nonlinear optics but is very difficult to control. Our pioneering project will open the door to low power optical devices and other diverse innovations that will support Australia's needs in defence and communications.
New quantitative methods in X-ray imaging using crystal optics. This project will enhance Australian science's international leadership in the area of x-ray imaging. This powerful type of X-ray imaging, which makes use of optical elements made of perfect crystals, is specially tailored to image samples which are invisible to conventional x-ray techniques. Such "extended x-ray vision" is extremely important for imaging in medicine, biology and materials science. Furthermore, we will train x-ray s ....New quantitative methods in X-ray imaging using crystal optics. This project will enhance Australian science's international leadership in the area of x-ray imaging. This powerful type of X-ray imaging, which makes use of optical elements made of perfect crystals, is specially tailored to image samples which are invisible to conventional x-ray techniques. Such "extended x-ray vision" is extremely important for imaging in medicine, biology and materials science. Furthermore, we will train x-ray scientists of tomorrow, whose expertise will allow Australia to capitalize on its investment in the Australian Synchrotron.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
Frozen linear and nonlinear light. Frozen light refers to the observation that light inside particular media can be much brighter than outside it, essentially because it bounced around many times before leaving. Such light has many advantages which have applications in optical signal processing, lasers, and in other optical devices. Until now frozen light has only been studied in a small range of geometries and only at low intensities. In this fundamental research project we will investigate fr ....Frozen linear and nonlinear light. Frozen light refers to the observation that light inside particular media can be much brighter than outside it, essentially because it bounced around many times before leaving. Such light has many advantages which have applications in optical signal processing, lasers, and in other optical devices. Until now frozen light has only been studied in a small range of geometries and only at low intensities. In this fundamental research project we will investigate frozen light, its generation and its properties at low and high intensities, systematically, and we will assess how it can be harnessed for potential applications.Read moreRead less
A new generation flat screen: metasurface displays. This project aims to develop a new generation flat screen that is lighter, more efficient and with higher resolution by replacing the traditional liquid crystals (LCs) with metasurfaces that are 100-times thinner than LCs. Metasurfaces are arrays of engineered dielectric and semiconductor nanoparticles, with extraordinary characteristics. The expected outcomes will lead to flat screens with resolution enhanced by 100 times and energy consumptio ....A new generation flat screen: metasurface displays. This project aims to develop a new generation flat screen that is lighter, more efficient and with higher resolution by replacing the traditional liquid crystals (LCs) with metasurfaces that are 100-times thinner than LCs. Metasurfaces are arrays of engineered dielectric and semiconductor nanoparticles, with extraordinary characteristics. The expected outcomes will lead to flat screens with resolution enhanced by 100 times and energy consumption reduced by half, as compared to current LC-based displays (e.g. LCD and LED). This novel technology will revolutionise the dimension and performance of displays and secure Australia's position in the billion dollar market of flat displays.
Read moreRead less
Unlocking the ultraviolet. This project will develop a new class of ultra-short-pulse and broadly tunable laser with performance in the ultraviolet that is unobtainable from current infrared-based laser technologies. Our invention will unlock the elusive ultraviolet part of the spectrum to allow new discoveries in fundamental science and to drive twenty-first-century technologies.
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
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
Liquid light: aqueous bio-sensing in microstructured polymer optical fibres. This project builds on Australia's world-leading position in the development of microstructured polymer optical fibres, and applies the unique benefits they provide to for ultra- sensitive bio-sensing. By using the microstructure to simultaneously confine light and liquid, microstructured optical fibres provide a unique platform for ultra-sensitive spectroscopy and structural studies of biomolecules in solution. The wor ....Liquid light: aqueous bio-sensing in microstructured polymer optical fibres. This project builds on Australia's world-leading position in the development of microstructured polymer optical fibres, and applies the unique benefits they provide to for ultra- sensitive bio-sensing. By using the microstructure to simultaneously confine light and liquid, microstructured optical fibres provide a unique platform for ultra-sensitive spectroscopy and structural studies of biomolecules in solution. The work has profound implications both for fundamental science and applications, particularly in medical diagnostics.Read moreRead less