Plastic Solar Cells: Polymers that Harvest Sunlight. Sustainable economic growth for Australia requires renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. The most attractive option for the future generation of electrical energy is via the direct conversion of sunlight. The utilisation of solar energy has significant advantages over other energy sources in that it is inexhaustible and does not produce carbon dioxide or other pollutants. Conventional photovoltaic technology is not cost effe ....Plastic Solar Cells: Polymers that Harvest Sunlight. Sustainable economic growth for Australia requires renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. The most attractive option for the future generation of electrical energy is via the direct conversion of sunlight. The utilisation of solar energy has significant advantages over other energy sources in that it is inexhaustible and does not produce carbon dioxide or other pollutants. Conventional photovoltaic technology is not cost effective. Solar cells made from conducting polymers present the tantalising possibility of producing cheap electricity from sunlight. This project brings together experts in the physics and chemistry of conducting polymers with the goal of developing efficient plastic solar cells.Read moreRead less
Separating Subtle Interplay between Competing/Cooperating Superconductivity and Magnetism in YBa2Cu3O7-x with Nanotechnology. Superconducting cables can carry 100 to 200 times more electric current than conventional cables. The innovations in this program could enable the widespread commercialization of more efficient types of power generation, transmission, and electrical equipment and devices, offering tremendous energy savings and emissions reductions. It is estimated that ~A$400 million pe ....Separating Subtle Interplay between Competing/Cooperating Superconductivity and Magnetism in YBa2Cu3O7-x with Nanotechnology. Superconducting cables can carry 100 to 200 times more electric current than conventional cables. The innovations in this program could enable the widespread commercialization of more efficient types of power generation, transmission, and electrical equipment and devices, offering tremendous energy savings and emissions reductions. It is estimated that ~A$400 million per year can be saved if high-Tc superconducting wires and cables were to replace conventional metallic conductors. The success of this program will greatly increase scientific understanding of hig-Tc superconductivity and expand Australia's knowledge in the research on high-Tc superconductors. The training will also provide scientific talents to the country.Read moreRead less
Magnetic ground state and dynamics in high temperature superconductors. This project is aimed at studies of novel advanced materials. It will contribute to research at the leading edge of fundamental physics. This is an international project that incorporates collaboration with two leading German experimental groups. This raises the profile of the project internationally. This collaboration may bring some experiments of overseas scientists to ANSTO OPAL reactor and hence facilitate interactions ....Magnetic ground state and dynamics in high temperature superconductors. This project is aimed at studies of novel advanced materials. It will contribute to research at the leading edge of fundamental physics. This is an international project that incorporates collaboration with two leading German experimental groups. This raises the profile of the project internationally. This collaboration may bring some experiments of overseas scientists to ANSTO OPAL reactor and hence facilitate interactions between Australian and overseas experimental groups.Read moreRead less
Development of Advanced Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors for Spin Transistors. Recent advances in diluted magnetic semiconductors hold the promise of surmounting the fundamental limits of silicon technology by exploiting the spin degree of freedom in semiconductors to realize spin-transistors with enhanced functionality, higher speeds and integration densities, and lower power consumption in future. Current transistors are electronic circuits that make up most semiconductors, an international mar ....Development of Advanced Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors for Spin Transistors. Recent advances in diluted magnetic semiconductors hold the promise of surmounting the fundamental limits of silicon technology by exploiting the spin degree of freedom in semiconductors to realize spin-transistors with enhanced functionality, higher speeds and integration densities, and lower power consumption in future. Current transistors are electronic circuits that make up most semiconductors, an international market worth US$200bn in 2003 and this market will grow to US$1000bn per year in next 12 years. In 8 years time, the spin transistor will be on par with electronics. Therefore, success of this program will facilitate the development of spintronic materials and technologies, which have enormous international market, in Australia.Read moreRead less
Theoretical studies of strongly correlated quantum states in novel condensed matter systems. Strongly correlated quantum electronic and magnetic systems represent one of the most active and exciting areas of condensed matter physics, and one that will continue to have a major bearing on technology. We will pursue an extensive program of research into many aspects of this field, using a variety of analytical and numerical methods, in many of which we are among the world leaders. The project will ....Theoretical studies of strongly correlated quantum states in novel condensed matter systems. Strongly correlated quantum electronic and magnetic systems represent one of the most active and exciting areas of condensed matter physics, and one that will continue to have a major bearing on technology. We will pursue an extensive program of research into many aspects of this field, using a variety of analytical and numerical methods, in many of which we are among the world leaders. The project will add significantly to understanding of the physics of quantum phase transitions, spin-liquids, novel superconductors, and other related phenomena, and of the properties of quantum lattice models.Read moreRead less
Development of high-performance Si/Ge superlattice thermoelectric materials with optimization of lattice periodic thickness. Thermoelectric generation systems convert waste heat into electrical energy irrespective of source size and without the use of moving parts or the production of environmentally deleterious wastes. This would conserve fuel and energy, and reduce environmental emissions. Success of this program will facilitate the development of thermoelectric materials, which has enormous i ....Development of high-performance Si/Ge superlattice thermoelectric materials with optimization of lattice periodic thickness. Thermoelectric generation systems convert waste heat into electrical energy irrespective of source size and without the use of moving parts or the production of environmentally deleterious wastes. This would conserve fuel and energy, and reduce environmental emissions. Success of this program will facilitate the development of thermoelectric materials, which has enormous international market, in Australia. It will open up an avenue for searching out potential thermoelectric materials for practical applications. This program will also provide an education platform to intensively train high quality postgraduates at the international level.Read moreRead less
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
Nonlinear quantum science with superconducting circuit quantum-electrodynamics. Circuit quantum electrodynamics has rapidly emerged in recent years as a new field of experimental quantum science, with applications to precision measurement, nanomechanical transducers and quantum information processing. We will design and demonstrate new experimental devices, grounded in a long-standing expertise in quantum optics, and enabled by a new low temperature laboratory under development at The Universit ....Nonlinear quantum science with superconducting circuit quantum-electrodynamics. Circuit quantum electrodynamics has rapidly emerged in recent years as a new field of experimental quantum science, with applications to precision measurement, nanomechanical transducers and quantum information processing. We will design and demonstrate new experimental devices, grounded in a long-standing expertise in quantum optics, and enabled by a new low temperature laboratory under development at The University of Queensland. This project will deliver a new technological capability for Australia.Read moreRead less
High efficiency thermoelectric nanomaterials. High efficiency thermoelectric power generators and refrigerators will have a wealth of applications in the automotive, semiconductor and power generation industries, among many others. Such technology could be used to recycle a significant fraction of the waste heat produced in industrial processes or in car engines, reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, or to produce high efficiency domestic refrigerators with no moving parts. Thi ....High efficiency thermoelectric nanomaterials. High efficiency thermoelectric power generators and refrigerators will have a wealth of applications in the automotive, semiconductor and power generation industries, among many others. Such technology could be used to recycle a significant fraction of the waste heat produced in industrial processes or in car engines, reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, or to produce high efficiency domestic refrigerators with no moving parts. This project will improve our theoretical understanding of the fundamental physics which underlies the operation of thermoelectric power generators and refrigerators, and will assist the design and optimisation of the next generation of high efficiency thermoelectric nanomaterials.Read moreRead less
Quantum control of decoherence in mesoscopic spin systems. Quantum mechanics provides a yet untapped resource in the construction of new technologies that span the range from computation to biomedical sensing. This project will tackle the most serious challenge facing quantum technologies based on spins in condensed matter systems: decoherence from fluctuating magnetic fields in the mesoscopic environment. Via quantum control and feedback methods this project will devise and demonstrate new tech ....Quantum control of decoherence in mesoscopic spin systems. Quantum mechanics provides a yet untapped resource in the construction of new technologies that span the range from computation to biomedical sensing. This project will tackle the most serious challenge facing quantum technologies based on spins in condensed matter systems: decoherence from fluctuating magnetic fields in the mesoscopic environment. Via quantum control and feedback methods this project will devise and demonstrate new techniques to 'keep alive' quantum coherent states of matter, a key step towards constructing large-scale quantum devices from inherently scalable building blocks.
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