Exploring Synergies between Frontier Microphotonics and Advanced Time and Frequency Technology. Recently scientists have developed the means to manufacture objects that are on the same microscopic scale as light itself. These structures can deliver exquisite control of the properties of the light beams. Our existing research has been aimed at developing some of the world's most precise measurement tools based on clocks and the pure colours generated by lasers. By combining these two technologie ....Exploring Synergies between Frontier Microphotonics and Advanced Time and Frequency Technology. Recently scientists have developed the means to manufacture objects that are on the same microscopic scale as light itself. These structures can deliver exquisite control of the properties of the light beams. Our existing research has been aimed at developing some of the world's most precise measurement tools based on clocks and the pure colours generated by lasers. By combining these two technologies, both of which lie at the extreme limit of precision, we will develop a new generation of technology for fundamental science objectives as well as for industrial needs.Read moreRead less
Hollow-core microstructured polymer fibres for optical sensing applications. A range of remarkable new optical fibres will be fabricated utilising the capabilities of a unique polymer fibre fabrication facility and focussing on the highly demanding class of microstructured fibres in which guidance in a hollow core is achieved through photonic band gap or Bragg guidance. Long lengths of low-loss fibres of this type will be developed, and applications in optical gas sensing, spectroscopy, voltage ....Hollow-core microstructured polymer fibres for optical sensing applications. A range of remarkable new optical fibres will be fabricated utilising the capabilities of a unique polymer fibre fabrication facility and focussing on the highly demanding class of microstructured fibres in which guidance in a hollow core is achieved through photonic band gap or Bragg guidance. Long lengths of low-loss fibres of this type will be developed, and applications in optical gas sensing, spectroscopy, voltage sensing and telecommunications will be explored.Read moreRead less
Enabling next-generation high-efficiency visible laser sources through advanced waveguide engineering. Lithium niobate has the potential to become the silicon of the optoelectronic industry. In order to realise its potential, fundamental problems associated with long term stability and cost of integration need to be solved. This project will develop a new hybrid fabrication platform that circumvents the traditional approaches pursued in the past for introducing waveguides into a lithium niobate ....Enabling next-generation high-efficiency visible laser sources through advanced waveguide engineering. Lithium niobate has the potential to become the silicon of the optoelectronic industry. In order to realise its potential, fundamental problems associated with long term stability and cost of integration need to be solved. This project will develop a new hybrid fabrication platform that circumvents the traditional approaches pursued in the past for introducing waveguides into a lithium niobate chip. This platform will enable the production of robust, low cost light sources for fields as diverse as biotechnology, environmental sensing and displays. This project will lead to new IP that will establish Australia as a leader in this field.Read moreRead less
Innovation in photonic device imaging: The keystone for future technologies. Advances in the use of photonic technology in telecommunications and a range of industrial applications depend critically on a precise knowledge of the physical structure of the optical fibre or device. This project involves the development of a suite of precision imaging techniques for determining the structure of optical fibres and in-fibre devices such as gratings and its application to a range of important problems ....Innovation in photonic device imaging: The keystone for future technologies. Advances in the use of photonic technology in telecommunications and a range of industrial applications depend critically on a precise knowledge of the physical structure of the optical fibre or device. This project involves the development of a suite of precision imaging techniques for determining the structure of optical fibres and in-fibre devices such as gratings and its application to a range of important problems in optical fibre technology. This knowledge is central to the ability to optimise and improve fibre and device fabrication methods, laying the foundations for higher speed telecommunications and the production of novel photonic devices.Read moreRead less
Laser Micro-Fabrication of Optoelectronic Devices. The project aims to develop new techniques of laser direct-write fabrication of microstructures (1-100 micron in size) in crystalline materials, and to apply these to fabricating periodically-poled nonlinear crystals for optical frequency conversion. These techniques will use laser ablative surface profiling with subsequent electric field poling, and a completely new process of laser temperature profiling with simultaneous field poling, to writ ....Laser Micro-Fabrication of Optoelectronic Devices. The project aims to develop new techniques of laser direct-write fabrication of microstructures (1-100 micron in size) in crystalline materials, and to apply these to fabricating periodically-poled nonlinear crystals for optical frequency conversion. These techniques will use laser ablative surface profiling with subsequent electric field poling, and a completely new process of laser temperature profiling with simultaneous field poling, to write periodic domains in lithium niobate. Such laser direct-write processing is well suited to rapid prototyping and will enable investigation of novel periodically-poled structures, for example, chirped, fanned and multiplexed structures for nonlinear spectral and temporal conversion.Read moreRead less
Adaptive aberration compensation in high refractive index materials for next-generation active microphotonic devices. The method proposed in this project is a very promising and versatile method to compensate the strong aberration in a high refractive index material. The successful compensation of such aberration will allow people to fabricate microdevices directly inside high refractive index materials. This project will greatly advance optical fabrication techniques and expand the national kno ....Adaptive aberration compensation in high refractive index materials for next-generation active microphotonic devices. The method proposed in this project is a very promising and versatile method to compensate the strong aberration in a high refractive index material. The successful compensation of such aberration will allow people to fabricate microdevices directly inside high refractive index materials. This project will greatly advance optical fabrication techniques and expand the national knowledge in the area of nonlinear PhCs (photonic crystals) and related applications. It is expected that the project will provide many chances for postgraduate students to be involved. In future, nonlinear PhCs and related devices may be widely used in daily life and this project may provide some opportunities for industry.Read moreRead less
Optical parametric amplifiers with exceptional qualities using highly nonlinear optical fibre. Current optical fibre networks use only a fraction of their capacity. This is in part because optical amplifiers with enough bandwidth do not exist. However, it will soon become necessary to exploit all of this capacity. This project will create a new highly nonlinear optical fibre with very low loss and tailored dispersion properties. This will then be used to make an optical fibre parametric ampli ....Optical parametric amplifiers with exceptional qualities using highly nonlinear optical fibre. Current optical fibre networks use only a fraction of their capacity. This is in part because optical amplifiers with enough bandwidth do not exist. However, it will soon become necessary to exploit all of this capacity. This project will create a new highly nonlinear optical fibre with very low loss and tailored dispersion properties. This will then be used to make an optical fibre parametric amplifier with a world record bandwidth, which will enable the full capacity of optical fibre to be exploited.Read moreRead less
Creation of New Precision Optical and Microwave Technologies and their Application to Testing the Fundamental of Physics. Clocks and oscillators are crucial for the highest precision scientific and industrial measurements and are the foundation of modern communications technology. Recent developments in laser-cooled optical clocks promise a wave of revolutionary changes to global navigation, timekeeping and precision measurement. Our group has already achieved world's-best performance in this f ....Creation of New Precision Optical and Microwave Technologies and their Application to Testing the Fundamental of Physics. Clocks and oscillators are crucial for the highest precision scientific and industrial measurements and are the foundation of modern communications technology. Recent developments in laser-cooled optical clocks promise a wave of revolutionary changes to global navigation, timekeeping and precision measurement. Our group has already achieved world's-best performance in this field. To stay at the forefront of this wave we propose a broad-ranging program of research aimed at:
- new clocks of 100 times higher performance than any existing clock,
- development of extremely low noise photonic oscillators,
- the application of these new technologies to test the foundations of Physics, including involvement in a space-based experiment.
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Fibre Bragg grating microstructures: a novel sensing tool? This project seeks to produce novel optical fibre sensors based on in-fibre Bragg gratings that will find applications in the measurement of transverse strain. The development of improved measurement techniques provides for better monitoring of industrial processes that will provide greater efficiency and safety, and thereby significant annual cost savings and improved safety.
Worldwide Collaboration for the Creation of New Frequency Standards, and their Application to testing the Foundations of Physics. Frequency standards are crucial for the highest precision scientific measurements as well as in modern communication and information technology (C&IT). Having already achieved world-best performance for short-term frequency stability, our research team is seeking support to participate in a broad international program with three particular objectives:
(i) create ne ....Worldwide Collaboration for the Creation of New Frequency Standards, and their Application to testing the Foundations of Physics. Frequency standards are crucial for the highest precision scientific measurements as well as in modern communication and information technology (C&IT). Having already achieved world-best performance for short-term frequency stability, our research team is seeking support to participate in a broad international program with three particular objectives:
(i) create new frequency standards based on laser-cooled atoms,
(ii) develop femtosecond laser technology for generating low noise microwave and optical signals,
(iii) develop microwave technology suitable for operation in space.
Improved frequency standards will allow decisive measurements on several fundamental scientific questions, as well as leading to commercial applications in C&IT.
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