Higher Order Effects in Miniaturized Piezoelectric Devices. The national benefits of this project are: (a) We will provide opportunities to two postdoctoral researchers to pursue cutting edge research on electromagnetic radiation/scattering and self-heating phenomena in microelectronic devices involving ultrathin lossy electrodes. (b) We will provide industry-oriented research on coating and shielding problems in microelectronic devices to two postgraduate students. (c) We will team up with worl ....Higher Order Effects in Miniaturized Piezoelectric Devices. The national benefits of this project are: (a) We will provide opportunities to two postdoctoral researchers to pursue cutting edge research on electromagnetic radiation/scattering and self-heating phenomena in microelectronic devices involving ultrathin lossy electrodes. (b) We will provide industry-oriented research on coating and shielding problems in microelectronic devices to two postgraduate students. (c) We will team up with world leading industrial partners and transfer high-tech know-how to Australia. (d) The outcomes of our research will position Australia as the prime focal point for the design, modelling and simulation of microacoustic devices.Read moreRead less
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF SILICON ON SAPPHIRE THIN FILMS GROWN USING SOLID-PHASE EPITAXIAL TECHNIQUES. Devices based on silicon-on-sapphire processing are potentially faster and are prepared with fewer processing steps than those based on conventional silicon processing technology. However, silicon-on-sapphire films prepared by traditional methods are unsatisfactory due to the high densities of defects they contain. The development of solid phase epitaxial processing has lead to significant increas ....STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF SILICON ON SAPPHIRE THIN FILMS GROWN USING SOLID-PHASE EPITAXIAL TECHNIQUES. Devices based on silicon-on-sapphire processing are potentially faster and are prepared with fewer processing steps than those based on conventional silicon processing technology. However, silicon-on-sapphire films prepared by traditional methods are unsatisfactory due to the high densities of defects they contain. The development of solid phase epitaxial processing has lead to significant increases in performance. This project will characterize the structures of films grown by this new process, and relate them to both the processing conditions and device performance. A greater understanding of the relationship between processing, structure and properties will assist the commercial development of these devices.Read moreRead less
Acoustics of the Didjeridu. We shall undertake a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the acoustics of the didjeridu-lips-vocal tract system. There is very little published technical literature on the dynamic acoustics of this important and uniquely Australian instrument, whose operation is surprisingly complex. A combination of stroboscopic measurements of lip motion, acoustic and vocal tract impedance measurements, MRI imaging of the vocal tract and computer modeling will be use ....Acoustics of the Didjeridu. We shall undertake a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the acoustics of the didjeridu-lips-vocal tract system. There is very little published technical literature on the dynamic acoustics of this important and uniquely Australian instrument, whose operation is surprisingly complex. A combination of stroboscopic measurements of lip motion, acoustic and vocal tract impedance measurements, MRI imaging of the vocal tract and computer modeling will be used to synthesize all components of the acoustic system into one quantitative model. The expected outcome will be an understanding of this instrument of unparalleled detail.Read moreRead less
Measurement of the spatial distribution of temperature and velocity in lakes using Acoustic Tomography. This project will investigate the use of acoustic tomography in lakes to continuously measure the lake-wide distribution of temperature and velocity. The challenges with lake acoustic tomography are the accuracy required in the travel time measurements over shorter distances, acoustic losses due to reflections and ensuring enough rays travel through the thermocline, the region of greatest inte ....Measurement of the spatial distribution of temperature and velocity in lakes using Acoustic Tomography. This project will investigate the use of acoustic tomography in lakes to continuously measure the lake-wide distribution of temperature and velocity. The challenges with lake acoustic tomography are the accuracy required in the travel time measurements over shorter distances, acoustic losses due to reflections and ensuring enough rays travel through the thermocline, the region of greatest interest in lakes. A pilot experiment in a deep lake will investigate the quality of travel time measurements computed from rays travelling through the thermocline of a strongly stratified lake. This has wide applications for the water quality management of lakes and reservoirs.Read moreRead less
Acoustic observation of Antarctic ice rifting and calving events using remote hydroacoustic listening stations. The calving activity of the Antarctic ice shelves is one of the major indicators of global climate change. Global warming induced by an increase in atmospheric CO2 will affect the Antarctic Ice Sheet, primarily in form of disintegration of the Antarctic ice shelves surrounding the continent. The processes of calving on the ice shelves may lead to a substantial increase of sea level aro ....Acoustic observation of Antarctic ice rifting and calving events using remote hydroacoustic listening stations. The calving activity of the Antarctic ice shelves is one of the major indicators of global climate change. Global warming induced by an increase in atmospheric CO2 will affect the Antarctic Ice Sheet, primarily in form of disintegration of the Antarctic ice shelves surrounding the continent. The processes of calving on the ice shelves may lead to a substantial increase of sea level around the world, with devastating effects on the continental coasts and low-lying islands. The method of remote acoustic observations investigated in this project is a new approach to the problem of creating an efficient and cost effective system to monitor rifting and calving of the Antarctic ice shelves. Read moreRead less
UNSW-Harvard-Cambridge Partnership in Semiconductor Nanostructures for Quantum Computing and Quantum Science. Breakthrough nanotechnologies based on quantum mechanics promise important new devices with many applications in information and communications technologies. For example, quantum computers promise an enormous increase in computing power, allowing fast and complex processing in areas such as database searching, gene sequencing and weather modeling. This new collaboration brings together r ....UNSW-Harvard-Cambridge Partnership in Semiconductor Nanostructures for Quantum Computing and Quantum Science. Breakthrough nanotechnologies based on quantum mechanics promise important new devices with many applications in information and communications technologies. For example, quantum computers promise an enormous increase in computing power, allowing fast and complex processing in areas such as database searching, gene sequencing and weather modeling. This new collaboration brings together researchers from major national Centres in Australia (UNSW), Great Britain (University of Cambridge) and the USA (Harvard University) to tackle one of modern sciences most challenging problems - how to control and manipulate quantum states.Read moreRead less
Engineering Ultra-low Disorder Semiconductor Quantum Nanostructures. The multi-trillion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. This proposal will provide a significant breakthrough by develop a new class of ultra low disorder 'quantum dot transistors' that will be of benefit to Australia's ongoing efforts in semiconductor nanotechnology and quantum information science, allowing us to play a role in the fu ....Engineering Ultra-low Disorder Semiconductor Quantum Nanostructures. The multi-trillion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. This proposal will provide a significant breakthrough by develop a new class of ultra low disorder 'quantum dot transistors' that will be of benefit to Australia's ongoing efforts in semiconductor nanotechnology and quantum information science, allowing us to play a role in the future development of nanoscale and quantum electronics. This research program will bring together Australian researchers and students to work with leading international universities in the USA and New Zealand, and a leading Japanese industrial research facility - Nippon Telegraph and Telecommunications.Read moreRead less
Nanospintronics - Spin Transport in Semiconductor Nanostructures. The multi-billion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. This proposal will provide a significant breakthrough by developing a new class of spintronic devices that will be of benefit to Australia's ongoing efforts in semiconductor nanotechnology and quantum information science, allowing us to play a role in the future development of nanosca ....Nanospintronics - Spin Transport in Semiconductor Nanostructures. The multi-billion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. This proposal will provide a significant breakthrough by developing a new class of spintronic devices that will be of benefit to Australia's ongoing efforts in semiconductor nanotechnology and quantum information science, allowing us to play a role in the future development of nanoscale and quantum electronics. This research program will provide training for Australian students in a cutting-edge semiconductor research facility, and involve linkages with leading international universities including Massey University (NZ), NTT Basic Research Labs (Japan) and the University of Bochum (Germany).Read moreRead less
Nanoscale electronic devices: bringing sample design, fabrication, test and theory together. The multi-trillion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. This proposal will support Australia's ongoing efforts in semiconductor nanotechnology and quantum information science, allowing us to play a role in the future development of nanoscale and quantum electronics. This research program will bring together Aus ....Nanoscale electronic devices: bringing sample design, fabrication, test and theory together. The multi-trillion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. This proposal will support Australia's ongoing efforts in semiconductor nanotechnology and quantum information science, allowing us to play a role in the future development of nanoscale and quantum electronics. This research program will bring together Australian researchers and students to work with leading international universities in the UK, Germany, the USA and New Zealand, allowing access to experimental facilities that simply do not exist in Australia. Read moreRead less
Hole nanoelectronics - new concepts for spintronic devices. This proposal will support a new basic research initiative in an area with enormous potential for the trillion dollar semiconductor industry - an industry that is well aware of the need to find a replacement for the conventional transistor beyond 2020. This research program will bring together Australian researchers and students to work with leading international universities in Germany and England, including the renowned Cavendish Labo ....Hole nanoelectronics - new concepts for spintronic devices. This proposal will support a new basic research initiative in an area with enormous potential for the trillion dollar semiconductor industry - an industry that is well aware of the need to find a replacement for the conventional transistor beyond 2020. This research program will bring together Australian researchers and students to work with leading international universities in Germany and England, including the renowned Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University. This project will position Australia to play a leading role in developing future quantum and spin-based technologies that have the potential to be as powerful over the next 50 years as conventional transistors have been over the past 50 years.Read moreRead less