The Identification and Development of Strategies for Increasing Engineering Enrolments. There is a continuing nation-wide decline in high school student enrolment in higher level mathematics and science. This is already leading to a reduction in the number of students undertaking university engineering programs in Australia and the situation is expected to worsen. This project is directed toward a better understanding of the reasons for the trend and the development of strategies to reverse it. ....The Identification and Development of Strategies for Increasing Engineering Enrolments. There is a continuing nation-wide decline in high school student enrolment in higher level mathematics and science. This is already leading to a reduction in the number of students undertaking university engineering programs in Australia and the situation is expected to worsen. This project is directed toward a better understanding of the reasons for the trend and the development of strategies to reverse it. It aims to 1. Evaluate the most effective strategies that increase student's interests and understanding of engineering and increase participation in engineering studies. 2. Develop an optimised national communication strategy for promoting engineering studies to secondary students.Read moreRead less
Preparation of silica-based thin film materials with large optical nonlinearity. There is currently a lack of advanced thin film materials suitable for fabricating integrated electro-optic devices to use in optical telecommunication. Such materials will be produced, and their application will be developed through this project. The physical mechanism of the marvelous optical nonlinearities of the materials will also be investigated. Thus the achievement of this project will bring great advancemen ....Preparation of silica-based thin film materials with large optical nonlinearity. There is currently a lack of advanced thin film materials suitable for fabricating integrated electro-optic devices to use in optical telecommunication. Such materials will be produced, and their application will be developed through this project. The physical mechanism of the marvelous optical nonlinearities of the materials will also be investigated. Thus the achievement of this project will bring great advancement in both scientific knowledge and technologies for Australia, and provide huge opportunities to boost Australian telecommunication industries, which are developing quickly in recent years.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network for a Secure Australia. The Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA) is a multi-disciplinary collaboration established to strengthen Australia's research capacity for protecting critical infrastructure from natural or human-caused disasters including terrorist acts. The RNSA will facilitate a knowledge-sharing network for research organisations, government and the private sector to develop research tools and methods to mitigate emerging safety and security issues relat ....ARC Research Network for a Secure Australia. The Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA) is a multi-disciplinary collaboration established to strengthen Australia's research capacity for protecting critical infrastructure from natural or human-caused disasters including terrorist acts. The RNSA will facilitate a knowledge-sharing network for research organisations, government and the private sector to develop research tools and methods to mitigate emerging safety and security issues relating to critical infrastructure. World-leaders with extensive national and international linkages in relevant scientific, engineering and technological research will lead this collaboration. The RNSA will launch various activities to foster research collaboration and nurture young investigators.Read moreRead less
Defect-induced luminescence from ion-implanted silicon: Towards silicon photonics applications. This project focusses on advanced materials science, photonics and innovative silicon optical devices that have potential for contributing to information and communications technologies, areas where Australia has considerable expertise and investment. Specifically, national benefit will be derived from breakthroughs in fundamental science and intellectual property.
Creation of novel photonic and nanostructured materials by ablation of solids with ultra-fast lasers. This project will study of the production of technologically important thin film materials and nanostructured materials using our patented ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition process. Thin film materials required for future applications in photonics will be a priority. In addition ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition can be used to create nanopartilces and mechanisms affecting the growth of these ....Creation of novel photonic and nanostructured materials by ablation of solids with ultra-fast lasers. This project will study of the production of technologically important thin film materials and nanostructured materials using our patented ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition process. Thin film materials required for future applications in photonics will be a priority. In addition ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition can be used to create nanopartilces and mechanisms affecting the growth of these materials will be studied. The project therefore falls into two priority areas: photon science and nanotechnology. Outcomes in addition to new knowledge will include materials and processes with commercial potential.Read moreRead less
Integrated magneto-optic waveguide materials and devices. We aim to develop chalcogenide glass films for fabricating integrated waveguide magneto-optic (MO) devices as a radical alternative to the use of crystalline MO materials that have proven difficult to manufacture in integrated form. Using our ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition (UFPLD) technique we will produce a wide range of chalcogenide glass compositions through combinatorial materials synthesis and assess them for magneto-optic activ ....Integrated magneto-optic waveguide materials and devices. We aim to develop chalcogenide glass films for fabricating integrated waveguide magneto-optic (MO) devices as a radical alternative to the use of crystalline MO materials that have proven difficult to manufacture in integrated form. Using our ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition (UFPLD) technique we will produce a wide range of chalcogenide glass compositions through combinatorial materials synthesis and assess them for magneto-optic activity. UFPLD will also be used to deposit high optical quality films for device prototyping. We will design and fabricate prototype MO components which are essential, but currently unavailable, for use as optical isolators in integrated optics.Read moreRead less
Advanced Siloxane Waveguide Devices for Telecommunications. This project will develop new methods for fabricating compact, high performance photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for use in future telecommunications networks in films of proprietary Inorganic Polymer Glasses (IPGs) commercialised by RPO Pty Ltd. New fabrication methods are required to overcome limitations of the current approach to patterning IPGs used by RPO Pty Ltd. Research will concentrate on hard contact lithography in conjunct ....Advanced Siloxane Waveguide Devices for Telecommunications. This project will develop new methods for fabricating compact, high performance photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for use in future telecommunications networks in films of proprietary Inorganic Polymer Glasses (IPGs) commercialised by RPO Pty Ltd. New fabrication methods are required to overcome limitations of the current approach to patterning IPGs used by RPO Pty Ltd. Research will concentrate on hard contact lithography in conjunction with dry (plasma) etching as well as ion beam milling; laser machining or UV writing for grating production. IPGs present special challenges for these technologies. The project outcomes will include new approaches to processing and the demonstration of the fabrication of innovative PICs in IPGs.Read moreRead less
Cellular and network basis of information processing in the mammalian visual system. The project aims to discover the strategies by which cells in the brain interact with each other to code the sensory input efficiently. It is expected that simultaneous recording of the activity of many neurones from the visual cortex of anaesthetised cats during visual stimulation will reveal how the biophysics of synaptic integration combined with excitatory and inhibitory inputs from different sources sculpt ....Cellular and network basis of information processing in the mammalian visual system. The project aims to discover the strategies by which cells in the brain interact with each other to code the sensory input efficiently. It is expected that simultaneous recording of the activity of many neurones from the visual cortex of anaesthetised cats during visual stimulation will reveal how the biophysics of synaptic integration combined with excitatory and inhibitory inputs from different sources sculpts the output of individual neurones. The experiments will be extended to the study of possible interactions between different areas of the brain and the study of mechanisms by which the cortical network and higher cognitive factors such as attention and memory might influence the coding of sensory information in awake animals.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0561240
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$121,510.00
Summary
Combined reactor for the plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) of amorphous layers of silicon, silicon nitride and silicon oxide, and for Reactive Ion Etching. Our small, but very productive group (up to 30 publications per Discovery grant) has reached critical mass (8 people), and the acquisition of essential infrastructure is peremptory. Without the proposed plasma reactor our strong international impact (10 papers, one invited, at the 2003 world conference on photovoltaics) will ....Combined reactor for the plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) of amorphous layers of silicon, silicon nitride and silicon oxide, and for Reactive Ion Etching. Our small, but very productive group (up to 30 publications per Discovery grant) has reached critical mass (8 people), and the acquisition of essential infrastructure is peremptory. Without the proposed plasma reactor our strong international impact (10 papers, one invited, at the 2003 world conference on photovoltaics) will wane. This machine permits to deposit thin layers of silicon nitride and amorphous silicon and is a versatile tool for investigating silicon materials for photovoltaics and microelectronics. Such reactors have become an essential tool for silicon solar cell work. Most laboratories across the world have at least one, including UNSW, but access to the latter is impractical.Read moreRead less
Band gap engineering of novel (In,Ga)SbN epitaxial semiconductors for high-performance long-wavelength optoelectronic devices. This proposal is at the forefront of a number of important fields, and therefore the outcomes are expected to be of great interest to a broad spectrum of industry sectors, including national defence, health care, environment and manufacturing. This novel material system could create new high technologies for various infrared devices. The outcomes of this project will pos ....Band gap engineering of novel (In,Ga)SbN epitaxial semiconductors for high-performance long-wavelength optoelectronic devices. This proposal is at the forefront of a number of important fields, and therefore the outcomes are expected to be of great interest to a broad spectrum of industry sectors, including national defence, health care, environment and manufacturing. This novel material system could create new high technologies for various infrared devices. The outcomes of this project will position Australian researchers among the pioneering groups in this area and will be beneficial to several major technology-related fields: global warming and associated environmental monitoring, security systems, thermal-imaging systems for night vision, and healthcare with the emphasis on disease diagnosis and treatment.Read moreRead less