Tailoring superconducting hybrid multilayered film systems for electric and electronic applications. This project focuses on the development of new scientific and technological aspects of the fabrication, properties and operation of novel hybrid systems for revolutionizing electricity handling and electronics. It will also solve some existing problems of film structures with promising multilayer technology. Hybrid systems, often make the headlines in science and are gaining an increasingly promi ....Tailoring superconducting hybrid multilayered film systems for electric and electronic applications. This project focuses on the development of new scientific and technological aspects of the fabrication, properties and operation of novel hybrid systems for revolutionizing electricity handling and electronics. It will also solve some existing problems of film structures with promising multilayer technology. Hybrid systems, often make the headlines in science and are gaining an increasingly promising outlook in materials engineering, nanotechnology and electronics, promising eventual application in a broad range of industries. This project will establish Australia's capability at the forefront in this area. The outcomes predicted will benefit existing Australian companies and may establish new companies dealing with these hybrid systems.Read moreRead less
New Directions in Silicon Solar Cell Technology. The fabrication of pure silicon is energy intensive, but solar cells can return 10 times more energy than is used to fabricate them. By investing in the development of silicon solar cells, Australia will develop a technology capable of encapsulating its vast coal resources within pure silicon. This has the potential to create an export market of clean energy and have an explosive effect on the growth of the local industry and skilled jobs.
Th ....New Directions in Silicon Solar Cell Technology. The fabrication of pure silicon is energy intensive, but solar cells can return 10 times more energy than is used to fabricate them. By investing in the development of silicon solar cells, Australia will develop a technology capable of encapsulating its vast coal resources within pure silicon. This has the potential to create an export market of clean energy and have an explosive effect on the growth of the local industry and skilled jobs.
This project will bolster the already prominent position of Australia in the field of photovoltaic solar energy by establishing collaborations with the top international organisations in the field. It will also coordinate efforts with all the main university research groups in the country. Read moreRead less
Electron Momentum Spectroscopy of Correlated Nanoscale Structures. Electron correlations play a vital role in determining the electronic properties of condensed matter and nanoscale structures. The most fundamental electronic property of a material is its spectral momentum density and this depends critically on electron correlations. It can be measured uniquely by electron momentum spectroscopy, even for amorphous and disordered materials. We will use our new world-leading electron momentum s ....Electron Momentum Spectroscopy of Correlated Nanoscale Structures. Electron correlations play a vital role in determining the electronic properties of condensed matter and nanoscale structures. The most fundamental electronic property of a material is its spectral momentum density and this depends critically on electron correlations. It can be measured uniquely by electron momentum spectroscopy, even for amorphous and disordered materials. We will use our new world-leading electron momentum spectrometer to measure the electronic structure of nanometer thick samples of correlated systems, such as alloys, superconductors, and reduced dimensional structures. These measurements will be used to test theories developed to describe the behaviour of these nanoscale structures.Read moreRead less
Lifetime spectroscopy of impurities in silicon solar cells. This project aims to apply recently developed experimental techniques to the important problem of characterising impurities in silicon, with a strong focus on solar cell applications. These new spectroscopic techniques, which are based on carrier lifetime measurements, are more sensitive and less ambiguous than most existing methods. The results will have important implications for solar cell technologies in two independent ways - first ....Lifetime spectroscopy of impurities in silicon solar cells. This project aims to apply recently developed experimental techniques to the important problem of characterising impurities in silicon, with a strong focus on solar cell applications. These new spectroscopic techniques, which are based on carrier lifetime measurements, are more sensitive and less ambiguous than most existing methods. The results will have important implications for solar cell technologies in two independent ways - firstly, by allowing accurate diagnosis of the performance-limiting impurities in standard silicon solar cells - and secondly, by identifying particular impurities which could boost cell performance beyond the conventional limit through the impurity photovoltaic effect.Read moreRead less
Nanoclusters with Extraordinary Properties Made out of Ordinary Materials. Ultrafast laser deposition - a process pioneered by the Applicants - has already demonstrated record yields in the production of carbon-based nano-clustered materials with better control over the size of the nano-particles than any other process. This project aims to improve fundamental understanding of the ultra-fast laser deposition method of nano-fabrication through theoretical and experimental studies, which accurate ....Nanoclusters with Extraordinary Properties Made out of Ordinary Materials. Ultrafast laser deposition - a process pioneered by the Applicants - has already demonstrated record yields in the production of carbon-based nano-clustered materials with better control over the size of the nano-particles than any other process. This project aims to improve fundamental understanding of the ultra-fast laser deposition method of nano-fabrication through theoretical and experimental studies, which accurately correlate the ablation conditions to the structural, electronic, magnetic and optical properties of resulting nano-particles. The results will be applied to efficiently produce nano-clustered materials with tuneable properties for a wide range of new technologies such as spintronics, biophotonics, and nanoclinics.Read moreRead less
Engineering and control of metamaterials with negative refraction. This project will extend significantly the research activity on metamaterials in Australia, promoting this new field and aiming to solve high priority problems and paving the way to creation of practical sub-wavelength devices. This project is therefore of national benefit for its advances in critical fundamental research and for potential applications in a large number of engineering tasks in microwave and optical devices. The p ....Engineering and control of metamaterials with negative refraction. This project will extend significantly the research activity on metamaterials in Australia, promoting this new field and aiming to solve high priority problems and paving the way to creation of practical sub-wavelength devices. This project is therefore of national benefit for its advances in critical fundamental research and for potential applications in a large number of engineering tasks in microwave and optical devices. The project will initialize collaboration with world leading experts in the area, bringing important expertise to Australia. It will provide a greater acceptance of Australia as a major world player in fundamental research.Read moreRead less
Nonlinear metamaterials and transformation optics. This research program will bring Australia to the forefront of international research in the exciting area of nonlinear metamaterials. It will provide high-level training for students in breakthrough science directions, and contribute to the uptake of frontier technologies by Australian industries for successful operation in a competitive global environment. This project will introduce and demonstrate novel concepts for dynamically controlling a ....Nonlinear metamaterials and transformation optics. This research program will bring Australia to the forefront of international research in the exciting area of nonlinear metamaterials. It will provide high-level training for students in breakthrough science directions, and contribute to the uptake of frontier technologies by Australian industries for successful operation in a competitive global environment. This project will introduce and demonstrate novel concepts for dynamically controlling and manipulating the properties of new type of materials. This research should bridge a gap between the study of metamaterials as a theoretical curiosity and their advanced applications. Our developments will underpin future developments in imaging systems and security. Read moreRead less
Exciton-mediated room-temperature superconductivity . Superconductivity is the ability of an electronic material to conduct electrical current without resistance. This property underpins many existing and proposed technological applications, ranging from medical imaging to low-energy electronics and quantum computing. In this project, we aim to demonstrate a highly unconventional route towards superconductivity at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, by exploiting collective behaviour of e ....Exciton-mediated room-temperature superconductivity . Superconductivity is the ability of an electronic material to conduct electrical current without resistance. This property underpins many existing and proposed technological applications, ranging from medical imaging to low-energy electronics and quantum computing. In this project, we aim to demonstrate a highly unconventional route towards superconductivity at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, by exploiting collective behaviour of excitons (electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor) strongly coupled to photons. This research should help to overcome the biggest challenge for the widespread applications of superconductors: the very low temperature or extreme pressure that the superconducting materials need to function.Read moreRead less
Transparent metal oxides, a window of opportunity for silicon solar cells. This project aims to develop novel silicon heterojunction solar cells based on transparent conductive metal oxides (TCOs). Thin layers of zinc, gallium and molybdenum oxides present negligible absorption losses, which leads to a high output current. The project will optimise them as surface passivating layers, to achieve a high output voltage. TCOs can also provide good lateral conductivity, to boost the fill factor. The ....Transparent metal oxides, a window of opportunity for silicon solar cells. This project aims to develop novel silicon heterojunction solar cells based on transparent conductive metal oxides (TCOs). Thin layers of zinc, gallium and molybdenum oxides present negligible absorption losses, which leads to a high output current. The project will optimise them as surface passivating layers, to achieve a high output voltage. TCOs can also provide good lateral conductivity, to boost the fill factor. The research proposes to create insight into the physical mechanisms of selective contacts for electrons and holes, paving the way for a range of innovative solar cell concepts. Transparent metal oxides open new windows of opportunity to increase the conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells using simpler fabrication processes.Read moreRead less
High-energy electron scattering of surfaces: new spectroscopies and new physics. Electrons sometimes behave as particles, and sometimes as waves. Both aspects are used when investigating nano-structures with electron beams. In this research program we design and perform experiments to measure sample composition using the particle nature, and the atom positions by using the wave nature of electrons. These novel experiments, using unique spectrometers designed and developed in Australia, are aime ....High-energy electron scattering of surfaces: new spectroscopies and new physics. Electrons sometimes behave as particles, and sometimes as waves. Both aspects are used when investigating nano-structures with electron beams. In this research program we design and perform experiments to measure sample composition using the particle nature, and the atom positions by using the wave nature of electrons. These novel experiments, using unique spectrometers designed and developed in Australia, are aimed at making new forms of electron microscopy possible, but will also result in a better understanding of existing electron microscopies and synchrotron-based measurements.Read moreRead less