Optomechanical metrology: pushing optical sensing to its limit. This project aims to pioneer technologies to observe and control the microscopic world with unprecedented precision, and apply them to realise practical sensors with unrivalled performance. Nano- and micro-scale sensors will be developed that resolve motion smaller than an atomic nucleus, in a classical spin-off from international efforts to study quantum physics at the nanoscale. Record precision will be achieved in thermometry and ....Optomechanical metrology: pushing optical sensing to its limit. This project aims to pioneer technologies to observe and control the microscopic world with unprecedented precision, and apply them to realise practical sensors with unrivalled performance. Nano- and micro-scale sensors will be developed that resolve motion smaller than an atomic nucleus, in a classical spin-off from international efforts to study quantum physics at the nanoscale. Record precision will be achieved in thermometry and magnetometry. New tools will be developed for lab-on-a-chip medical diagnosis and thermal imaging, that in future could allow femtolitre diagnosis of blood diseases such as malaria, on-chip genomic analysis, more efficient airport screening, and more precise satellite maps of global and atmospheric temperature.Read moreRead less
Optomechanical refrigeration of electronic circuits. The project aims to apply laser light to reduce the temperature of electronic circuits. This aims to greatly suppress electronic noise, and enable a new class of technologies for future telecommunication systems. By developing new techniques to confine light, electric fields and vibrations at sub-micron scale on a silicon chip, devices such as ultralow noise amplifiers, clocks and radio frequency receivers will be realised, along with ultra-ef ....Optomechanical refrigeration of electronic circuits. The project aims to apply laser light to reduce the temperature of electronic circuits. This aims to greatly suppress electronic noise, and enable a new class of technologies for future telecommunication systems. By developing new techniques to confine light, electric fields and vibrations at sub-micron scale on a silicon chip, devices such as ultralow noise amplifiers, clocks and radio frequency receivers will be realised, along with ultra-efficient optical modulators. In future, these technologies could reduce energy consumption and improve reliability in telecommunication networks. They could improve the range of satellite communication, robustness of GPS against cosmic radiation, and performance of surveillance systems such as radar and sonar.Read moreRead less
Early-Stage Medical Diagnostics by Plasmon-Mediated Gas Sensing. This project will investigate the use plasmonic absorption of light in metal nanostructures to activate the selective oxidation/reduction of a gas molecule on a semiconductor nanoparticle. This concept will be used with the aim of developing a sensing technique capable of measuring ultra-low concentrations (ppb) of breath markers for lung cancer detection. It is expected that porous sensing films of semiconductor and metal nanopart ....Early-Stage Medical Diagnostics by Plasmon-Mediated Gas Sensing. This project will investigate the use plasmonic absorption of light in metal nanostructures to activate the selective oxidation/reduction of a gas molecule on a semiconductor nanoparticle. This concept will be used with the aim of developing a sensing technique capable of measuring ultra-low concentrations (ppb) of breath markers for lung cancer detection. It is expected that porous sensing films of semiconductor and metal nanoparticles with well-defined light absorption properties will be fabricated. Superior selectivity will be achieved by matching the wavelength of the absorbed light with the required activation energy for oxidation/reduction. Successful outcomes will enable multi-analyte fingerprint identification by on-chip devices with applications ranging from portable medical diagnostics to national security.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100641
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,079.00
Summary
Brillouin microscopy for high-speed imaging of rigidity within cells. This project aims to improve the sensitivity and speed of Brillouin microscopes. Brillouin microscopes use light to measure the stiffness of samples in 3D without requiring physical access, allowing their use in inaccessible locations such as the interior of cells or within intact tissue. However, Brillouin microscopes are too slow to be used in most research. This project introduces a new approach based on different optical p ....Brillouin microscopy for high-speed imaging of rigidity within cells. This project aims to improve the sensitivity and speed of Brillouin microscopes. Brillouin microscopes use light to measure the stiffness of samples in 3D without requiring physical access, allowing their use in inaccessible locations such as the interior of cells or within intact tissue. However, Brillouin microscopes are too slow to be used in most research. This project introduces a new approach based on different optical physics that is expected to enable faster and more precise imaging. The microscope will be used to study the movement of amoeba, where it is expected to reveal the controlled stiffening and fluidising of the different regions of protoplasm believed to underlie the cell mobility.Read moreRead less
Bright x-ray beams from laser-driven microplasmas. This project aims to develop a new generation of bright, laser-like x-ray sources for laboratory use. X-ray sources underpin key diagnostic techniques in materials science, advancing applications from structural engineering through to ore processing and energy storage. However, the limited brightness of present-day laboratory x-ray sources restricts the utility and range of these diagnostic techniques. This research intends to use intense lasers ....Bright x-ray beams from laser-driven microplasmas. This project aims to develop a new generation of bright, laser-like x-ray sources for laboratory use. X-ray sources underpin key diagnostic techniques in materials science, advancing applications from structural engineering through to ore processing and energy storage. However, the limited brightness of present-day laboratory x-ray sources restricts the utility and range of these diagnostic techniques. This research intends to use intense lasers to create microscopic plasmas and drive high harmonic generation. The high harmonic generation process is already used to create laser-like ultraviolet light. By optimising the characteristics of the plasma medium, the project aims to extend bright high harmonic generation to the x-ray regime.Read moreRead less