Nanodiamond in glass: a new approach to nanosensing. This work will develop optical materials enriched with diamond nanoparticles. This will enable the magnetic field sensitivity of diamond nanoparticles to be combined with the capacity of micro/nanostructured optical fibres to enhance the interaction of light with matter. The outcome will be tools for probing biological processes on the nanoscale.
Optomechanical metrology: pushing optical sensing to its limit. This project aims to pioneer technologies to observe and control the microscopic world with unprecedented precision, and apply them to realise practical sensors with unrivalled performance. Nano- and micro-scale sensors will be developed that resolve motion smaller than an atomic nucleus, in a classical spin-off from international efforts to study quantum physics at the nanoscale. Record precision will be achieved in thermometry and ....Optomechanical metrology: pushing optical sensing to its limit. This project aims to pioneer technologies to observe and control the microscopic world with unprecedented precision, and apply them to realise practical sensors with unrivalled performance. Nano- and micro-scale sensors will be developed that resolve motion smaller than an atomic nucleus, in a classical spin-off from international efforts to study quantum physics at the nanoscale. Record precision will be achieved in thermometry and magnetometry. New tools will be developed for lab-on-a-chip medical diagnosis and thermal imaging, that in future could allow femtolitre diagnosis of blood diseases such as malaria, on-chip genomic analysis, more efficient airport screening, and more precise satellite maps of global and atmospheric temperature.Read moreRead less
Ultrafast, near infrared laser sources using fibre-based optical parametric oscillators. This project will use microstructured optical fibres and nonlinear optics to create compact and cheap laser sources in the near infrared spectrum to replace the bulky and expensive devices in many spectroscopic and biophotonic applications today. The work will further enhance Australia's standing in the field of nonlinear optics and optical fibres.
Early-Stage Medical Diagnostics by Plasmon-Mediated Gas Sensing. This project will investigate the use plasmonic absorption of light in metal nanostructures to activate the selective oxidation/reduction of a gas molecule on a semiconductor nanoparticle. This concept will be used with the aim of developing a sensing technique capable of measuring ultra-low concentrations (ppb) of breath markers for lung cancer detection. It is expected that porous sensing films of semiconductor and metal nanopart ....Early-Stage Medical Diagnostics by Plasmon-Mediated Gas Sensing. This project will investigate the use plasmonic absorption of light in metal nanostructures to activate the selective oxidation/reduction of a gas molecule on a semiconductor nanoparticle. This concept will be used with the aim of developing a sensing technique capable of measuring ultra-low concentrations (ppb) of breath markers for lung cancer detection. It is expected that porous sensing films of semiconductor and metal nanoparticles with well-defined light absorption properties will be fabricated. Superior selectivity will be achieved by matching the wavelength of the absorbed light with the required activation energy for oxidation/reduction. Successful outcomes will enable multi-analyte fingerprint identification by on-chip devices with applications ranging from portable medical diagnostics to national security.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,288.00
Summary
Miniaturised fibre-optic probes for biomedical image and sensor data fusion. The project aims to develop new types of tiny biomedical imaging devices based on optical fibres that can be inserted into the body via hypodermic needles or catheters. These devices will have the ability to generate a three-dimensional image of the tissue region. As the devices will also be able to sense biochemical or mechanical properties of the tissue, they can be used to differentiate healthy from diseased tissue. ....Miniaturised fibre-optic probes for biomedical image and sensor data fusion. The project aims to develop new types of tiny biomedical imaging devices based on optical fibres that can be inserted into the body via hypodermic needles or catheters. These devices will have the ability to generate a three-dimensional image of the tissue region. As the devices will also be able to sense biochemical or mechanical properties of the tissue, they can be used to differentiate healthy from diseased tissue. These minimally invasive devices will produce information-rich multidimensional fused image and sensor data, opening up new possibilities for biologists and medical researchers to study disease progression and treatment in living animals and humans, with great potential for scientific discovery.Read moreRead less
Disruptive approaches to biological sensing. Optical fibre-based biosensors have the potential to transform our ability to monitor our environment, protect our nation's assets and safeguard our citizens, and to offer improved clinical diagnostics and food quality control by creating tools that can detect biomolecules in real-time within complex samples. To fulfil this mission, we propose to develop new fibre-based sensing architectures for sensing biomolecules that have the potential to be sensi ....Disruptive approaches to biological sensing. Optical fibre-based biosensors have the potential to transform our ability to monitor our environment, protect our nation's assets and safeguard our citizens, and to offer improved clinical diagnostics and food quality control by creating tools that can detect biomolecules in real-time within complex samples. To fulfil this mission, we propose to develop new fibre-based sensing architectures for sensing biomolecules that have the potential to be sensitive, selective, fast and compact.Read moreRead less
Beyond Spectral Detection: Engineering SUPER Dot Probes for High-Throughput Discovery. Molecules that are altered as a result of a pathological condition are generally present in very low abundance, and pose a “needle-in-a-haystack” problem. Current detection, quantification and localisation technologies use fluorescent probes that are limited by sensitivity and analysis time. This project will develop a new generation of nanophotonic luminescent probes (Strong Upconversion Photo-stable Encoded ....Beyond Spectral Detection: Engineering SUPER Dot Probes for High-Throughput Discovery. Molecules that are altered as a result of a pathological condition are generally present in very low abundance, and pose a “needle-in-a-haystack” problem. Current detection, quantification and localisation technologies use fluorescent probes that are limited by sensitivity and analysis time. This project will develop a new generation of nanophotonic luminescent probes (Strong Upconversion Photo-stable Encoded nano-Radiators (SUPER) Dots), based on purpose-engineered up-conversion nanocrystals that are ultra-bright and have low background interference, high specificity, speed, and large-scale multiplexing capacity. These probes will allow microscopy and flow cytometry to measure hitherto undetectable rare-event molecules and cells, opening new frontiers for the discovery of new biomarkers.Read moreRead less
Terahertz lasers in the fight against illicit substances. This project aims to investigate the application of cutting-edge terahertz laser technology with new spectroscopic methods, for detection of illicit substances. Using a collaborative approach, the project aims to bring together expertise in laser physics, spectroscopy, law enforcement and instrumentation, and seeks to develop new sources and detection protocols which will offer new capabilities to law enforcement, aiding in detection and ....Terahertz lasers in the fight against illicit substances. This project aims to investigate the application of cutting-edge terahertz laser technology with new spectroscopic methods, for detection of illicit substances. Using a collaborative approach, the project aims to bring together expertise in laser physics, spectroscopy, law enforcement and instrumentation, and seeks to develop new sources and detection protocols which will offer new capabilities to law enforcement, aiding in detection and identification protocols for illicit substances.Read moreRead less
Self-mixing sensors based on terahertz quantum cascade lasers: a new technology for tissue characterisation. Novel laser sensors will be developed for detection and imaging of substances in a wide range of applications. Security and detection of cancer are two key areas to be explored in this project.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101329
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Ultra-stable photonic-chip pulse source. An ultra-low noise high repetition photonic-chip pulse source is proposed. This ultra-stable device offers orders-of-magnitude improvements over existing solutions and holds potential for strong improvements to analogue-to-digital converters. The laser will be a crucial component for photonic integrated circuits, enabling millimetre size processing.