The Quest for Ultimate Measurement Precision. Precision measurement is the foundation upon which modern technological society is built. The highest quality measurement devices rely on stable clocks for their operation. The group's existing research has been aimed at developing some of the world's most precise measurement tools based on clocks and lasers. In parallel with this, other scientists have developed the means for exquisite control of light on the microscopic scale. By combining these tw ....The Quest for Ultimate Measurement Precision. Precision measurement is the foundation upon which modern technological society is built. The highest quality measurement devices rely on stable clocks for their operation. The group's existing research has been aimed at developing some of the world's most precise measurement tools based on clocks and lasers. In parallel with this, other scientists have developed the means for exquisite control of light on the microscopic scale. By combining these two technologies, both of which lie at the extreme limit of precision, the group will develop a new generation of technology for fundamental science objectives as well as for industrial needs.Read moreRead less
Elucidating the mechanisms by which Scribble, Discs Large and Lethal Giant Larvae regulate epithelial polarity. Discs Large (Dlg) and Scribble are proteins that regulate cell shape by concentrating at particular regions within the cell and recruiting other proteins to that region. It is thought that the two proteins interact with each other, and with other proteins involved in protein trafficking and cell architecture, but it is not known how these events coordinate to produce a net outcome on ....Elucidating the mechanisms by which Scribble, Discs Large and Lethal Giant Larvae regulate epithelial polarity. Discs Large (Dlg) and Scribble are proteins that regulate cell shape by concentrating at particular regions within the cell and recruiting other proteins to that region. It is thought that the two proteins interact with each other, and with other proteins involved in protein trafficking and cell architecture, but it is not known how these events coordinate to produce a net outcome on cell shape. To answer these questions, the dynamic events involved in localization of Dlg, Scribble, and associated proteins will be determined, in mammalian cells and in whole organs of the vinegar fly.Read moreRead less
Probing the Universe with gravitational waves: from cutting-edge technology to astronomy. The direct detection of Einstein's elusive gravitational waves will not only confirm one of the most important theories in physics, it will unleash a new form of radiation (in addition to electromagnetic) with which to study the Universe. Our participation in this quest continues Australia's role in the vanguard of new astronomy and its exploitation. This proposal will produce scientists highly trained in ....Probing the Universe with gravitational waves: from cutting-edge technology to astronomy. The direct detection of Einstein's elusive gravitational waves will not only confirm one of the most important theories in physics, it will unleash a new form of radiation (in addition to electromagnetic) with which to study the Universe. Our participation in this quest continues Australia's role in the vanguard of new astronomy and its exploitation. This proposal will produce scientists highly trained in areas of national priority, including frontier technologies such as photonics and smart information use through GRID computing. Developing ways to build instruments of almost unimaginable sensitivity fosters innovation leading to spin-offs into other areas of optical sensing - fundamental research resulting in economic benefit.Read moreRead less
Compact Low-Cost Tunable UV Lasers for Biosensing Applications. Detection and characterisation of micro-organisms such as airborne biological agents, parasites in domestic water supplies and micro-organisms used in the food and beverage industry, is of national importance. All biological systems have rich absorption signatures in the UV enabling detection of biological specimens with high sensitivity and selectivity using optical methods. For these applications compact and inexpensive tunable U ....Compact Low-Cost Tunable UV Lasers for Biosensing Applications. Detection and characterisation of micro-organisms such as airborne biological agents, parasites in domestic water supplies and micro-organisms used in the food and beverage industry, is of national importance. All biological systems have rich absorption signatures in the UV enabling detection of biological specimens with high sensitivity and selectivity using optical methods. For these applications compact and inexpensive tunable UV lasers are required; however to date tunable UV lasers have been limited to bulky and expensive systems. We propose to engineer novel, low cost, compact, tunable UV cerium lasers and demonstrate their applicability to selective optical detection of micro-organisms.Read moreRead less
Dynamic Correlations and Coherence Effects in Two-Electron Emission Processes. The electronic structure and properties of matter are determined by the correlated motion of electrons. Thus an understanding of this quantum mechanical many-body problem is central to our understanding of nature. We will apply laser-based quantum-state-selective techniques and advanced instrumentation to uncover new phenomena in many-body spin-correlated electron dynamics, quantum coherence and entanglement. The resu ....Dynamic Correlations and Coherence Effects in Two-Electron Emission Processes. The electronic structure and properties of matter are determined by the correlated motion of electrons. Thus an understanding of this quantum mechanical many-body problem is central to our understanding of nature. We will apply laser-based quantum-state-selective techniques and advanced instrumentation to uncover new phenomena in many-body spin-correlated electron dynamics, quantum coherence and entanglement. The resulting benchmark data will force significant developments in theory, extending its predictive power to drive advancements in areas ranging from industrial and astrophysical plasmas, gas discharges, lasers, and planetary atmospheres, to nanoscale electronic and spintronic devices.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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882792
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
High Power Laser, Test Masses, Digital Control System and Vacuum System for High Optical Power Interferometry Experiments. Gravitational waves are expected to offer humanity a completely new spectrum with which to study the Universe. Australia has been a pioneer in the quest to open up this new spectrum. This project will allow Australia to play a key role in a world-wide project which aims for the first time to enable gravitational waves to be detected from black holes and neutron stars through ....High Power Laser, Test Masses, Digital Control System and Vacuum System for High Optical Power Interferometry Experiments. Gravitational waves are expected to offer humanity a completely new spectrum with which to study the Universe. Australia has been a pioneer in the quest to open up this new spectrum. This project will allow Australia to play a key role in a world-wide project which aims for the first time to enable gravitational waves to be detected from black holes and neutron stars throughout the universe. It will give Australia access to developed technologies, and will be a major boost to physical science research and education.Read moreRead less
A wavelength-versatile visible laser for ophthalmic instrumentation. Treatment of a wide range of retinal disorders can be enhanced by a range of treatment modalities using laser beams of different colours. The outcome of this project will be a new laser technology for ophthalmic applications which is unique in its versatility while reducing size and cost. This will allow our partner, Opto Global, to gain a unique market position for its ophthalmic products with flow-on benefits to the Austral ....A wavelength-versatile visible laser for ophthalmic instrumentation. Treatment of a wide range of retinal disorders can be enhanced by a range of treatment modalities using laser beams of different colours. The outcome of this project will be a new laser technology for ophthalmic applications which is unique in its versatility while reducing size and cost. This will allow our partner, Opto Global, to gain a unique market position for its ophthalmic products with flow-on benefits to the Australian economy and ultimately benefits to the community through improved clinical efficacy and patient outcomes. The frontier technology represented by these new laser devices is also applicable to other industries including medical aesthetics, colour projection and display, and defence systems.Read moreRead less
Optical supercontinuum generation from high pulse-energy optical sources. The aim of this project is to develop a broadband and high brightness optical fibre source based on optical supercontinuum generation (i.e. low-coherence optical signals with octave or more bandwidth). Unlike similar sources demonstrated recently which rely on expensive bulk femtosecond pump lasers, this source will be pumped by a large pulse-energy optical fibre laser and use stimulated Raman scattering to seed the contin ....Optical supercontinuum generation from high pulse-energy optical sources. The aim of this project is to develop a broadband and high brightness optical fibre source based on optical supercontinuum generation (i.e. low-coherence optical signals with octave or more bandwidth). Unlike similar sources demonstrated recently which rely on expensive bulk femtosecond pump lasers, this source will be pumped by a large pulse-energy optical fibre laser and use stimulated Raman scattering to seed the continuum generation. The primary outcome will be a compact low-cost all-fibre supercontinuum source with a wide range of applications in areas such as optical metrology, optical coherence tomography, and high resolution non-contact position and motion sensing.Read moreRead less
Development of a neutral helium beam microscope. This project would demonstrate Australia's capability in developing leading edge technologies applicable to the growing nanotechnology industry. The development of a neutral helium beam microscope brings into Australia expertise in the emerging field of molecular optics, and would place Australia as one of the first countries to make a commitment to this field. The project will develop a prototype instrument which is aimed at becoming a commercial ....Development of a neutral helium beam microscope. This project would demonstrate Australia's capability in developing leading edge technologies applicable to the growing nanotechnology industry. The development of a neutral helium beam microscope brings into Australia expertise in the emerging field of molecular optics, and would place Australia as one of the first countries to make a commitment to this field. The project will develop a prototype instrument which is aimed at becoming a commercially viable product - the neutral helium beam microscope. The possibilities of using the microscope system as a nanofabrication device would also give researchers in Australia the ability to fabricate structures that could not be manufactured anywhere else in the world.Read moreRead less