High-speed bidirectional optical interconnects for board-to-board communications. The project will contribute directly to Australia's participation in various ICT industries through the development of innovative solutions and will increase the knowledge and skills base in silicon-photonics. The development of the proposed board-to-board high-speed optical interconnect prototypes will result in R&D outcomes well-matched to the needs and interests of Australian companies; this project will assist ....High-speed bidirectional optical interconnects for board-to-board communications. The project will contribute directly to Australia's participation in various ICT industries through the development of innovative solutions and will increase the knowledge and skills base in silicon-photonics. The development of the proposed board-to-board high-speed optical interconnect prototypes will result in R&D outcomes well-matched to the needs and interests of Australian companies; this project will assist Australia to capitalise on new technology and to become a significant player in the next ICT boom. This project will put Australia at the cutting edge of high-speed interconnect technology and will generate income through licensing the technology and the establishment of spin-off opportunities in both Australia and off-shore.Read moreRead less
Tools and techniques for cost effective creation of new, reliable and efficient microwave transistors for millimetre wave and wireless applications. Shifting the circuit design paradigm to the requirements of a circuit will provide a low-cost design solution for application with tight size, performance and lifetime constraints. This will enhance the international competitiveness of Mimix Broadband in the microwave wireless, aerospace, and radar markets, which will contribute to Australia's high ....Tools and techniques for cost effective creation of new, reliable and efficient microwave transistors for millimetre wave and wireless applications. Shifting the circuit design paradigm to the requirements of a circuit will provide a low-cost design solution for application with tight size, performance and lifetime constraints. This will enhance the international competitiveness of Mimix Broadband in the microwave wireless, aerospace, and radar markets, which will contribute to Australia's high performance circuit design sector. New knowledge and skilled researchers provided by this project will foster growth of the microwave and wireless industry. The local research community will be advantaged in international reputation and in its efforts to develop future high performance wireless systems.Read moreRead less
Millimetre Wave Communication Systems for Consumer Applications. The key outcome of this cross-disciplinary project will be a prototype single-chip (RF section), short-range, 1Gigabit/second, wireless network operating at 60 GHz. This will employ new Silicon Germanium technology in a 'system on chip' methodology that will pave the way for low-cost consumer applications of such technology. A new design flow will be developed to support this project, which will enable first silicon pass correct d ....Millimetre Wave Communication Systems for Consumer Applications. The key outcome of this cross-disciplinary project will be a prototype single-chip (RF section), short-range, 1Gigabit/second, wireless network operating at 60 GHz. This will employ new Silicon Germanium technology in a 'system on chip' methodology that will pave the way for low-cost consumer applications of such technology. A new design flow will be developed to support this project, which will enable first silicon pass correct design of complete mm-wave millimetre wave radios on a single chip, a feat that has yet to be demonstrated. A new communication system will be developed to support the high data rates proposed. The significance will be application in very high speed high-bandwith wireless local networks.Read moreRead less
Overcoming Transistor Performance Issues for Emerging Millimetre-Wave Applications. The operation of transistors for emerging millimeter-wave applications, such as point to point communications and automotive radar, will be researched. The aim is to develop circuit design methodologies that extract better performance from a given fabrication process, thus giving a competitive advantage to local industry, which shares the process with other international companies. Transistor operating range, lin ....Overcoming Transistor Performance Issues for Emerging Millimetre-Wave Applications. The operation of transistors for emerging millimeter-wave applications, such as point to point communications and automotive radar, will be researched. The aim is to develop circuit design methodologies that extract better performance from a given fabrication process, thus giving a competitive advantage to local industry, which shares the process with other international companies. Transistor operating range, linearity and characterisation will be enhanced. New models and demonstrator circuits will be produced. The project will skill postgraduates in microwave theory and techniques applied to the development of high performance circuits.Read moreRead less
Development of an advanced semiconductor characterisation capability for infrared focal plane array applications. Australian access to world leading technology in state-of-the-art infrared detectors is key to future advanced systems for defence surveillance and sensing, mineral exploration, biomedical instrumentation, precision agriculture, environmental monitoring and homeland security. This project will ensure that Australia contributes to an integral component required in the development of t ....Development of an advanced semiconductor characterisation capability for infrared focal plane array applications. Australian access to world leading technology in state-of-the-art infrared detectors is key to future advanced systems for defence surveillance and sensing, mineral exploration, biomedical instrumentation, precision agriculture, environmental monitoring and homeland security. This project will ensure that Australia contributes to an integral component required in the development of these technologies allowing early access to future systems. It will also enable Austarlia to play a leading role in setting the research directions for infrared materials that will place Australian research at the forefront in this area.Read moreRead less
Multi-channel reconfigurable high dynamic range digital receivers. Wireless communication systems have important defence and commercial applications, most obviously in the form of the mobile telephone network. Future wireless systems will require much higher levels of performance, in the form of ability to receive and distinguish signals from multiple sources that are physically close together and transmit on similar frequencies.
In this project we will develop a test system that will allow us ....Multi-channel reconfigurable high dynamic range digital receivers. Wireless communication systems have important defence and commercial applications, most obviously in the form of the mobile telephone network. Future wireless systems will require much higher levels of performance, in the form of ability to receive and distinguish signals from multiple sources that are physically close together and transmit on similar frequencies.
In this project we will develop a test system that will allow us to undertake research on new algorithms that will achieve these higher levels of performance. Our objective is to demonstrate dramatic improvements in the capabilities of receivers for future generation mobile phone and defence surveillance systems.
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Hardware Verification Techniques for Complex High Performance Systems-on-a-chip. Verifying the correctness of modern integrated circuit designs is a critical success factor from both economic and technological perspectives. Rapid advances in semiconductor manufacturing technology are not matched by similar gains in hardware design verification methodology. This creates a widening verification gap that threatens the viability of future complex integrated circuits. This project aims to address th ....Hardware Verification Techniques for Complex High Performance Systems-on-a-chip. Verifying the correctness of modern integrated circuit designs is a critical success factor from both economic and technological perspectives. Rapid advances in semiconductor manufacturing technology are not matched by similar gains in hardware design verification methodology. This creates a widening verification gap that threatens the viability of future complex integrated circuits. This project aims to address this issue by developing novel hardware verification techniques targeting complex high performance systems-on-a-chip. The research outcome will be a set of verification techniques and tools that directly benefit the advancement of future integrated circuit development, verification and manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Design and Formal Verification of Control and Data Acquisition Protocols. This research will develop new specification and verification techniques for remote control protocols, used among interconnected sites in supply utilities such as electricity grids, based on a proven formal methods technology. These protocols are used in the monitoring of data from remote sites, and the transmission of control commands to such sites from a central location. Benefits to the industrial partner include increa ....Design and Formal Verification of Control and Data Acquisition Protocols. This research will develop new specification and verification techniques for remote control protocols, used among interconnected sites in supply utilities such as electricity grids, based on a proven formal methods technology. These protocols are used in the monitoring of data from remote sites, and the transmission of control commands to such sites from a central location. Benefits to the industrial partner include increased assurance that their control technology does correctly realise the adopted protocols. Assurance of correctness is significant in that incorrect protocol implementation may cause errant operation of equipment, and lead to economic and environmental damage.Read moreRead less
Development of inert gas ion beams for fabrication of nano-structures. This project will develop a high brightness, high density ion beam for reactive fabrication of structures with dimensions of the order of and less than 100 nano-metres. Present systems use liquid metal ion sources which can pollute the substrates being fabricated. Use of inert gas ions will overcome this problem and lead to a new type of ion source to replace the older systems. Added advantages include significantly increased ....Development of inert gas ion beams for fabrication of nano-structures. This project will develop a high brightness, high density ion beam for reactive fabrication of structures with dimensions of the order of and less than 100 nano-metres. Present systems use liquid metal ion sources which can pollute the substrates being fabricated. Use of inert gas ions will overcome this problem and lead to a new type of ion source to replace the older systems. Added advantages include significantly increased lifetime much higher reproducibility. Our commercial collaborator, FEI Company, estimate the world market as being $US100,000,000 and will actively promote this technology worldwide when it is fully developed.Read moreRead less
Implant Isolation of III-V Compound Semiconductor Devices and Structures. Individual devices in an integrated circuit can be electrically isolated from each other by irradiating the materials between them with high energy ions. This creates defects in the semiconductor that trap charge carriers and thereby increase the resistance of the material. However, the effectiveness of this process depends on the material as well as irradiation and post-irradiation processing conditions. This project aim ....Implant Isolation of III-V Compound Semiconductor Devices and Structures. Individual devices in an integrated circuit can be electrically isolated from each other by irradiating the materials between them with high energy ions. This creates defects in the semiconductor that trap charge carriers and thereby increase the resistance of the material. However, the effectiveness of this process depends on the material as well as irradiation and post-irradiation processing conditions. This project aims to develop an implant isolation scheme for a new class of devices developed by Epitactix, an Australian start-up company founded on CSIRO research. This will be achieved by combining the ANU's experience and expertise in ion-irradiation and defect engineering with the device and processing expertise of Epitactix Pty Ltd.Read moreRead less