Microwave Detection of Structural Degradation in Maritime Industry. Novel applications of microwave technology to inspection systems in marine infrastructure will transform industry practice. By utilizing multi-mode antennas, the project aims to develop a gold-standard in microwave inspection, delivering more accurate and early detection of defects. The project aims will be achieved by combining innovative microwave technology, featuring multi-mode antennas and novel processing and imaging algor ....Microwave Detection of Structural Degradation in Maritime Industry. Novel applications of microwave technology to inspection systems in marine infrastructure will transform industry practice. By utilizing multi-mode antennas, the project aims to develop a gold-standard in microwave inspection, delivering more accurate and early detection of defects. The project aims will be achieved by combining innovative microwave technology, featuring multi-mode antennas and novel processing and imaging algorithms, with ground-breaking smart scanning and unmanned marine vehicle implementations. This innovative outcome obviates the need for current industry approaches based on inaccurate and tedious manual inspections, yielding massive cost savings and reductions in hazard associated with unanticipated structural failure.Read moreRead less
Running Hot: Increasing the Availability of World-Class Precision Timing . Precision clocks are a key enabler for many important technologies including navigation, radar, distributed computing and communications. Unfortunately, the very best clocks are currently bulky and very expensive. This project will take Australia’s multi-award winning sapphire clock technology and transform it so that its unmatched performance is available from a unit with an order of magnitude smaller size, power consum ....Running Hot: Increasing the Availability of World-Class Precision Timing . Precision clocks are a key enabler for many important technologies including navigation, radar, distributed computing and communications. Unfortunately, the very best clocks are currently bulky and very expensive. This project will take Australia’s multi-award winning sapphire clock technology and transform it so that its unmatched performance is available from a unit with an order of magnitude smaller size, power consumption and cost. This transformation will be driven on the back of a patented revolutionary step that allows operation of the sapphire clock at higher cryogenic temperatures. The new clock will have a wider range of applications delivering more computational power, higher bandwidth transmissions and better radar. Read moreRead less
Smart Antennas for Broadband Wireless Data Systems. Smart antennas can facilitate accommodation of an increasing demand for bandwidth and quality in wireless communications by directing the antenna beam towards the desired user, while suppressing signals coming from interferers. The beam forming processor can adapt to changes in channel propagation conditions as well as movements of the user or interferers. Many algorithms for controlling smart antennas have been proposed, and usually there is a ....Smart Antennas for Broadband Wireless Data Systems. Smart antennas can facilitate accommodation of an increasing demand for bandwidth and quality in wireless communications by directing the antenna beam towards the desired user, while suppressing signals coming from interferers. The beam forming processor can adapt to changes in channel propagation conditions as well as movements of the user or interferers. Many algorithms for controlling smart antennas have been proposed, and usually there is a trade-off between complexity and performance. We aim to find a suitable compromise to implement smart antennas for broadband wireless access systems and to apply smart antenna technology to increase the range of ultra-wideband communications.Read moreRead less
High Performance Microwave Oscillators for Radars, Comminication Systems and Precision Noise Measurements. The aim of the project is to develop a new class of microwave oscillators with unique combination of properties including low-noise, high frequency stability and reduced sensitivity to vibration. Such oscillators are essential for expanding fields of radar, fiber optics, optical frequency synthesis and metrology.
The industrial partner's focus will be on demands for reduced cost and impro ....High Performance Microwave Oscillators for Radars, Comminication Systems and Precision Noise Measurements. The aim of the project is to develop a new class of microwave oscillators with unique combination of properties including low-noise, high frequency stability and reduced sensitivity to vibration. Such oscillators are essential for expanding fields of radar, fiber optics, optical frequency synthesis and metrology.
The industrial partner's focus will be on demands for reduced cost and improved environmental performance, the university team will focus on improved frequency stability, optimal tuning and novel vibration immunity techniques.
Achieving the project goals will broaden the international markets for the industry partner's products and lead to increased export income for Australia.
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Reconfigurable antennas for satellite on-the-move communications. Reconfigurable antennas for satellite on-the-move communications. This project aims to design and develop low-cost reconfigurable end-user antennas that could be integrated with low-earth-orbit satellites so regional and remote Australians can access broadband. While broadband is taking its place alongside water and electricity as essential infrastructure, people in regional Australia lack genuine broadband services. These antenna ....Reconfigurable antennas for satellite on-the-move communications. Reconfigurable antennas for satellite on-the-move communications. This project aims to design and develop low-cost reconfigurable end-user antennas that could be integrated with low-earth-orbit satellites so regional and remote Australians can access broadband. While broadband is taking its place alongside water and electricity as essential infrastructure, people in regional Australia lack genuine broadband services. These antennas are expected to give these communities reliable access to e-health services and distance education, and make their businesses more productive with access to new markets. The proposed antennas should also make broadband services available in the air, at sea, or on the move.Read moreRead less
Application of ultra-high stability cryogenic sapphire oscillators to Very Long Baseline Interferometry. This project will develop a state-of-the-art commercial prototype of the cryogenic sapphire oscillator (CSO) optimised for use at remote sites. Proof of operation will be applied to the important niche market of Very-Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) radio astronomy, with improvements in image quality. The research will also significantly benefit the Australian bid for the SKA project, as ....Application of ultra-high stability cryogenic sapphire oscillators to Very Long Baseline Interferometry. This project will develop a state-of-the-art commercial prototype of the cryogenic sapphire oscillator (CSO) optimised for use at remote sites. Proof of operation will be applied to the important niche market of Very-Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) radio astronomy, with improvements in image quality. The research will also significantly benefit the Australian bid for the SKA project, as the CSO is the only technology capable of synchronising the outputs of the telescopes arrays to the required signal to noise to attain the required image quality. The project will further Australia's status in radio astronomy as a world leader and add to our exports of precision scientific instruments.Read moreRead less
Photonic Antenna: Nested multi-band patch antenna and arrayed photonic interconnect. This project aims to investigate the design of a broadband ?photonic antenna? for airborne radar warning and electronic countermeasure systems. The project will investigate the development of a suite of printed antennas that cover bands in the range from 2-40 GHz realised on a single substrate. Nesting these antennas to reduce system size, and integration of this module with a custom optical modulator array and ....Photonic Antenna: Nested multi-band patch antenna and arrayed photonic interconnect. This project aims to investigate the design of a broadband ?photonic antenna? for airborne radar warning and electronic countermeasure systems. The project will investigate the development of a suite of printed antennas that cover bands in the range from 2-40 GHz realised on a single substrate. Nesting these antennas to reduce system size, and integration of this module with a custom optical modulator array and RF signal combiner will be investigated. The resulting broadband antenna suite with photonic interconnect will require minimal fabrication and packaging resources, and will thus be an economically viable photonic solution for practical defence systems.Read moreRead less
Radio Frequency Wireless Monitoring in Sleep Apnoea (Particularly for Paediatric Patients). Disease diagnosis, chronic disease monitoring and stress monitoring all are limited by diagnostic systems that are attached to patients by wires restricting the recording of such parameters to limited intervals in the clinician's office. The proposed system will enable patients to have a range of physiological parameters recorded without the attachment of wires. This will enable extensive periods of dia ....Radio Frequency Wireless Monitoring in Sleep Apnoea (Particularly for Paediatric Patients). Disease diagnosis, chronic disease monitoring and stress monitoring all are limited by diagnostic systems that are attached to patients by wires restricting the recording of such parameters to limited intervals in the clinician's office. The proposed system will enable patients to have a range of physiological parameters recorded without the attachment of wires. This will enable extensive periods of diagnostic data to be recorded to characterize respiratory, cardiac and other parameters during extended periods, and during normal daily activity. In addition the system can be used to monitor patients with chronic disease and detect trends in their disease.Read moreRead less
Application of Femtosecond Light Sources to Generation of Low Noise Microwave Signals. The main goal of the research project is to develop prototypes of photonic oscillators capable of generating spectrally pure signals both at optical and microwave frequencies. The project is also aimed at understanding noise mechanisms affecting frequency stability of classical microwave oscillators based on sapphire loaded cavity resonators. By cryogenically cooling such resonators we plan to create a new fam ....Application of Femtosecond Light Sources to Generation of Low Noise Microwave Signals. The main goal of the research project is to develop prototypes of photonic oscillators capable of generating spectrally pure signals both at optical and microwave frequencies. The project is also aimed at understanding noise mechanisms affecting frequency stability of classical microwave oscillators based on sapphire loaded cavity resonators. By cryogenically cooling such resonators we plan to create a new family of extremely low noise and economically viable microwave signal sources. The research proposed will enrich the field of oscillator frequency control, give rise to new techniques for precision noise measurements and reinforce Australia's position at the forefront of microwave and photonic science.Read moreRead less
Investigation into improved wireless communication for rural and regional Australia. The project will improve the performance of wireless communications allowing better and more accessible communication throughout rural and regional Australia. This will enable a more efficient communications as it will reduce the requirements of cables.