Efficient and tailored supercontinuum generation using dispersion management. Imagine a laser beam, but not with just one colour, but containing all colours. The light beam thus looks white, somewhat like a search light, except that it is much brighter. We now know how to generate such bright white beams of light, but it is expensive, requiring a small specialized laboratory full of equipment. Through a better understanding, we will make it easier and cheaper to generate these light beams. All k ....Efficient and tailored supercontinuum generation using dispersion management. Imagine a laser beam, but not with just one colour, but containing all colours. The light beam thus looks white, somewhat like a search light, except that it is much brighter. We now know how to generate such bright white beams of light, but it is expensive, requiring a small specialized laboratory full of equipment. Through a better understanding, we will make it easier and cheaper to generate these light beams. All kinds of applications that have been known for years, such as medical imaging and chemical analysis, then suddenly become practical. We anticipate that in the future these bright white light beams will be used on a routine basis in Australian hospitals and industry. Read moreRead less
Diamond Single Photon Source. This project will enhance Australia's international profile in the area of quantum technology and will link, for the first time, diamond single photon capability with fibre optics technology, building on the strengths of both fields. The innovative steps in photonics and materials science which we are initiating place us in a unique position to exploit the emerging niche market for single photon sources. A provisional patent application for this technology is bein ....Diamond Single Photon Source. This project will enhance Australia's international profile in the area of quantum technology and will link, for the first time, diamond single photon capability with fibre optics technology, building on the strengths of both fields. The innovative steps in photonics and materials science which we are initiating place us in a unique position to exploit the emerging niche market for single photon sources. A provisional patent application for this technology is being lodged by the applicant and University of Melbourne colleagues in conjunction with QUCOR Pty Ltd. Success in researching and developing this device will help consolidate Australia's reputation as a global contributor to leading edge science and technology. Read moreRead less
Passively switched mid-infrared fibre lasers using saturable absorbers placed internally or externally to the geometry of the fibre. This project will create new pulsed mid-infrared fibre lasers based on original and recently developed passive switching techniques. An original class of fibre laser systems will be shown that is based on the internal placement of saturable absorbers within the optical fibre itself. A configuration such as this will enable the production of very simple pulsed laser ....Passively switched mid-infrared fibre lasers using saturable absorbers placed internally or externally to the geometry of the fibre. This project will create new pulsed mid-infrared fibre lasers based on original and recently developed passive switching techniques. An original class of fibre laser systems will be shown that is based on the internal placement of saturable absorbers within the optical fibre itself. A configuration such as this will enable the production of very simple pulsed laser systems of high efficiency and potentially high power. This will lead into the development of practical pulsed oscillator systems the output of which can be used directly or optically amplified for applications requiring high power.Read moreRead less
Microwave-modulated optical systems for free-space and undersea communications. Although offering flexible, rapid deployment, free space and underwater comunications have not kept up with progress in optical fibre communications, and current systems are signficantly restricted in range and data rate. To address these needs, we will develop novel laser systems using coherent detection, with infrared output for eyesafe transmission in air, and blue-green output for transmission underwater. The s ....Microwave-modulated optical systems for free-space and undersea communications. Although offering flexible, rapid deployment, free space and underwater comunications have not kept up with progress in optical fibre communications, and current systems are signficantly restricted in range and data rate. To address these needs, we will develop novel laser systems using coherent detection, with infrared output for eyesafe transmission in air, and blue-green output for transmission underwater. The signal is a microwave modulation on the optical carrier, which permits longer-range transmission while maintaining signal coherence. Key advantages include increased detection sensitivity, and potential to scale up the modulation frequency and the power for higher data rates and longer propagation distance.Read moreRead less
Compact Tunable Visible Lasers - New Approaches to Phase-Matching. Australia will benefit significantly from this innovation in lasers and especially fibre lasers. Optical fibre devices are a major area of our capability in world-leading research and commercialisation. Through commercialisation we will directly benefit economically in terms of exports and jobs. We will also benefit from commercial exploitation of applications in biomedicine, security and environmental monitoring. Students will b ....Compact Tunable Visible Lasers - New Approaches to Phase-Matching. Australia will benefit significantly from this innovation in lasers and especially fibre lasers. Optical fibre devices are a major area of our capability in world-leading research and commercialisation. Through commercialisation we will directly benefit economically in terms of exports and jobs. We will also benefit from commercial exploitation of applications in biomedicine, security and environmental monitoring. Students will be trained in an area important for Australian research and high technology industry. Australia's position as a world-leader in optics and photonics will be strengthened .Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347140
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$208,000.00
Summary
Picosecond optical probing and characterization of infrared and visible devices. The facility consists of a laser to generate short infrared pulses, and an oscilloscope and detectors to measure such pulses. It will be used to characterize and investigate a new generation of novel optical fibre devices and microstructures, which are to form the basis of the next generation of telecommunications systems, and also novel and unique laser types. The research and development of all of these devices ar ....Picosecond optical probing and characterization of infrared and visible devices. The facility consists of a laser to generate short infrared pulses, and an oscilloscope and detectors to measure such pulses. It will be used to characterize and investigate a new generation of novel optical fibre devices and microstructures, which are to form the basis of the next generation of telecommunications systems, and also novel and unique laser types. The research and development of all of these devices are receiving external funding (or are in negotiations therefore). The facility allows for high-speed and high-accuracy data acquisition, which makes it unique in Australia.Read moreRead less
Novel multi-channel and nonlinear Bragg grating devices. High capacity and reliable telecommunications links are essential for many aspects of modern life and work. Optical fibres offer essentially unlimited capacity, but their optimal use requires the transmission of multiple wavelength channels simultaneously. This, in turn, requires the development of special-purpose fibre devices for multiplexing and de-multiplexing these channels, as well as for other optical filtering and switching tasks. ....Novel multi-channel and nonlinear Bragg grating devices. High capacity and reliable telecommunications links are essential for many aspects of modern life and work. Optical fibres offer essentially unlimited capacity, but their optimal use requires the transmission of multiple wavelength channels simultaneously. This, in turn, requires the development of special-purpose fibre devices for multiplexing and de-multiplexing these channels, as well as for other optical filtering and switching tasks. Fibre Bragg gratings are central to many of these devices, and the aim of this project is to develop novel designs for linear and nonlinear Bragg grating devices which may significantly widen the current range of their applications.Read moreRead less
Photonic Crystals and Microstructured Optical Fibres for Device Applications. Photonic crystals and microstructured optical fibres, which are amongst the most exciting fields of modern optics and photonics, are set to underpin developments in the next generation of ultrahigh-bandwidth communications systems, the functionalities of which will be truly all-optical. This project will bring together of two leading research groups in these areas, enhancing their collaboration, complementing their ex ....Photonic Crystals and Microstructured Optical Fibres for Device Applications. Photonic crystals and microstructured optical fibres, which are amongst the most exciting fields of modern optics and photonics, are set to underpin developments in the next generation of ultrahigh-bandwidth communications systems, the functionalities of which will be truly all-optical. This project will bring together of two leading research groups in these areas, enhancing their collaboration, complementing their expertise, and enabling them to develop new theoretical and computational tools to facilitate device applications. The program will coordinate research over a broad front and bring real benefits to young researchers in both France and Australia.Read moreRead less
Tailoring ultrafast pulses for Tb/s transmission with advanced modulation formats. Ultrahigh bandwidth communications technologies will play an increasingly important role in the social and economic development of Australia. The potential benefit is emphasised by the recent decision to build a broadband network valued at $8 B that will link the vast majority of Australian homes and businesses by high speed optical fibre. In this project we will investigate innovative approaches for optical trans ....Tailoring ultrafast pulses for Tb/s transmission with advanced modulation formats. Ultrahigh bandwidth communications technologies will play an increasingly important role in the social and economic development of Australia. The potential benefit is emphasised by the recent decision to build a broadband network valued at $8 B that will link the vast majority of Australian homes and businesses by high speed optical fibre. In this project we will investigate innovative approaches for optical transmission of data at the ultrahigh bit rates required by these next generation networks. These approaches will be based on technology developed in Australia by the Partner Organisation Optium Corporation, leading to further growth opportunities within the Australian manufacturing operation of this company.Read moreRead less
Frozen linear and nonlinear light. Frozen light refers to the observation that light inside particular media can be much brighter than outside it, essentially because it bounced around many times before leaving. Such light has many advantages which have applications in optical signal processing, lasers, and in other optical devices. Until now frozen light has only been studied in a small range of geometries and only at low intensities. In this fundamental research project we will investigate fr ....Frozen linear and nonlinear light. Frozen light refers to the observation that light inside particular media can be much brighter than outside it, essentially because it bounced around many times before leaving. Such light has many advantages which have applications in optical signal processing, lasers, and in other optical devices. Until now frozen light has only been studied in a small range of geometries and only at low intensities. In this fundamental research project we will investigate frozen light, its generation and its properties at low and high intensities, systematically, and we will assess how it can be harnessed for potential applications.Read moreRead less