A new nano-sensor technology for the detection and identification of residual vapours of explosives, drugs and chemicals in the air. Fighting terrorism and crime is one of the most important and difficult tasks that requires substantial human and technological resources. This project will help to address this enormous problem by developing a new optical sensor technology for the detection and identification of traces of chemicals, explosives, drugs and biological agents. It will develop a labora ....A new nano-sensor technology for the detection and identification of residual vapours of explosives, drugs and chemicals in the air. Fighting terrorism and crime is one of the most important and difficult tasks that requires substantial human and technological resources. This project will help to address this enormous problem by developing a new optical sensor technology for the detection and identification of traces of chemicals, explosives, drugs and biological agents. It will develop a laboratory prototype of this sensor that is expected to have superior sensitivity and operational capabilities. Thus it will noticeably contribute to practical law enforcement, air quality and environmental monitoring, counter-terrorism, air safety, border security and customs service. It will also lead to further development of nano-optics and nanotechnology in Australia. Read moreRead less
Nonlinear photonic crystals. Photonic crystals have recently became very attractive for photonic technology, that uses light instead of slow electrons as the information carriers replacing electronics in communications and information management. This project has the purpose to develop the fundamental concept of nonlinear photonic crystals and demonstrate their possible applications analysing the properties of the nonlinearity-induced light localization, nonlinear transmission, and frequency co ....Nonlinear photonic crystals. Photonic crystals have recently became very attractive for photonic technology, that uses light instead of slow electrons as the information carriers replacing electronics in communications and information management. This project has the purpose to develop the fundamental concept of nonlinear photonic crystals and demonstrate their possible applications analysing the properties of the nonlinearity-induced light localization, nonlinear transmission, and frequency conversion in band-gap materials with the intensity-dependent optical response. This will allow the possibility realising in practice nonlinear switching even for sharply bent waveguides, providing an effective way to control the flow of light in band-gap photonic circuits.Read moreRead less
Solitons and localised structures in nonlocal nonlinear media. Solitons - localised waves existing in nonlinear media may propagate without changing their shape and interact with each other as real particles. They are ubiquitous in nature - exist in any system exhibiting dispersion and nonlinearity. This project aims to study theoretically and experimentally properties of beams and solitons in non-local nonlinear systems. It will lay out theoretical foundations of the nonlocal solitons and d ....Solitons and localised structures in nonlocal nonlinear media. Solitons - localised waves existing in nonlinear media may propagate without changing their shape and interact with each other as real particles. They are ubiquitous in nature - exist in any system exhibiting dispersion and nonlinearity. This project aims to study theoretically and experimentally properties of beams and solitons in non-local nonlinear systems. It will lay out theoretical foundations of the nonlocal solitons and demonstrate experimentally their unique features. This research will have an impact on understanding of the soliton phenomena in many fields including optics and matter waves, providing knowledge which may be subsequently transferred to practical technologies, such as in formation of optical circuits.Read moreRead less
Across the Gravitational Wave Spectrum. Violent astrophysical events in the universe emit gravitational waves across a spectrum from mHz to kHz, producing an infinitesimal?but detectable'strain in space-time itself. Like high energy physics projects, gravitational wave detection involves giant multi million dollar research facilities and extensive international collaboration. This project will develop ideas, equipment and algorithms which will enhance the performance of both high frequency (gro ....Across the Gravitational Wave Spectrum. Violent astrophysical events in the universe emit gravitational waves across a spectrum from mHz to kHz, producing an infinitesimal?but detectable'strain in space-time itself. Like high energy physics projects, gravitational wave detection involves giant multi million dollar research facilities and extensive international collaboration. This project will develop ideas, equipment and algorithms which will enhance the performance of both high frequency (ground) and low frequency (space) based laser interferometer type detectors, and see Australia expand its already important role in searching for nature's most elusive signals.Read moreRead less
Tunable nonlinear photonic devices with liquid crystals. This project will help to initiate in Australia a systematic study of nonlinear properties of liquid crystals for applications in optical components. Taking the advantage of strong and tunable nonlinear response of liquid crystals and low threshold powers, it will analyse new opportunities for controllable light manipulation in nanoscale photonic devices, suggesting realistic designs for tunable photonic circuits. The project will promote ....Tunable nonlinear photonic devices with liquid crystals. This project will help to initiate in Australia a systematic study of nonlinear properties of liquid crystals for applications in optical components. Taking the advantage of strong and tunable nonlinear response of liquid crystals and low threshold powers, it will analyse new opportunities for controllable light manipulation in nanoscale photonic devices, suggesting realistic designs for tunable photonic circuits. The project will promote this attractive field and will facilitate the emergence of novel technologies. It will also lead to important international collaborations and bring important new expertise to Australia, complementing the core research program of the ARC Centre of Excellence CUDOS.Read moreRead less
Quantum Photonics with continuous laser beams - travel award. Quantum information and communication is a new paradigm in information technology which utilises quantum physics to improve current limitations in speed, security and fidelity of information transmission and processing, extending the present Electronics and Photonics devices. Future applications will include teleportation, cryptography and ultimately quantum computation. We propose to investigate these applications using continuous (C ....Quantum Photonics with continuous laser beams - travel award. Quantum information and communication is a new paradigm in information technology which utilises quantum physics to improve current limitations in speed, security and fidelity of information transmission and processing, extending the present Electronics and Photonics devices. Future applications will include teleportation, cryptography and ultimately quantum computation. We propose to investigate these applications using continuous (CW) laser beams and the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) quantum entanglement, which is generated via a pair of optical parametric oscillators. The advantage of CW over the established single photon technology is better detection efficiency, wider data bandwidth and a compatibility with existing photonics technology.Read moreRead less
Slow light in nanostructured materials. This project will introduce and demonstrate novel concepts for dynamically controlling the speed of light and manipulating optical pulses in specially designed nanoscale structures, making an essential step towards the creation of all-optical devices performing fast switching and processing of optical signals. These developments underpin the next generation of high-performance networks, promising to revolutionize global communications. This project will ke ....Slow light in nanostructured materials. This project will introduce and demonstrate novel concepts for dynamically controlling the speed of light and manipulating optical pulses in specially designed nanoscale structures, making an essential step towards the creation of all-optical devices performing fast switching and processing of optical signals. These developments underpin the next generation of high-performance networks, promising to revolutionize global communications. This project will keep Australia at the forefront of international research and provide training of students on breakthrough applications of photonics and nanotechnology, contributing to the uptake of frontier technologies by Australian industries for successful operation in a competitive global environment.Read moreRead less
Nanoscale nonlinear optics. Advances in nanotechnology have led to the realisation of nanoscale photonic components that enable integration within electronic chips. Now the challenge is to make these components perform computing functions themselves, thus providing ultra-high operation speeds and reducing power consumption. This project will utilize the intensity dependent interaction of light with metal-dielectric nanostructures to establish new processing functions of the photonic components. ....Nanoscale nonlinear optics. Advances in nanotechnology have led to the realisation of nanoscale photonic components that enable integration within electronic chips. Now the challenge is to make these components perform computing functions themselves, thus providing ultra-high operation speeds and reducing power consumption. This project will utilize the intensity dependent interaction of light with metal-dielectric nanostructures to establish new processing functions of the photonic components. Our research underpins integration of photonics in future generations of computers and enables novel applications in subwavelength optical imaging and sensing. This project will therefore strongly enhance the standing of Australia in the field of nanotechnology.Read moreRead less
Non-Gaussian states and entanglement distillation for Continuous Variable quantum information protocols. Amplifiers are important devices for electronic, computer as well as telecommunication industries. In the quantum world where light's corpuscular nature is prominent, amplification of a beam of light will have its associated noise penalty. This noise penalty sets limit to many quantum optical applications. This proposal aims to use a method based on conditional detection to realize a 'noisel ....Non-Gaussian states and entanglement distillation for Continuous Variable quantum information protocols. Amplifiers are important devices for electronic, computer as well as telecommunication industries. In the quantum world where light's corpuscular nature is prominent, amplification of a beam of light will have its associated noise penalty. This noise penalty sets limit to many quantum optical applications. This proposal aims to use a method based on conditional detection to realize a 'noiseless linear amplifier' that has no noise penalty probabilistically. Realization of this key device is central to extending the range of quantum communication, such as quantum cryptography. It also has applications in quantum computing and the potential to enhance sensitive measurements.Read moreRead less
Carrier dynamics in III-V semiconductor quantum dots and nanostructures. Quantum dots and related nanostructures are one of the most attractive topics in the recently years. This project will investigate the role of carrier dynamics in these nanostructures by using state-of-the-art ultrafast spectroscopy techniques. The wealth of information obtained from this study will not only enhance our knowledge base but also allow us to design high performance QD lasers and detectors and to demonstrate in ....Carrier dynamics in III-V semiconductor quantum dots and nanostructures. Quantum dots and related nanostructures are one of the most attractive topics in the recently years. This project will investigate the role of carrier dynamics in these nanostructures by using state-of-the-art ultrafast spectroscopy techniques. The wealth of information obtained from this study will not only enhance our knowledge base but also allow us to design high performance QD lasers and detectors and to demonstrate innovative optoelectronic devices for optical communication systems as well as quantum information processing. It will ensure that Australia is at the cutting edge of nanotechnology and optoelectronics research.Read moreRead less