Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100133
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
National Facility for Physical Blast Simulation (NFPBS). Recent terrorist attacks employing large quantities of high explosives have prompted the international demand for experimental investigation of civil infrastructure response to shock wave loadings. The National Facility for Physical Blast Simulation (NFPBS) is one of only a few in the world that are suitable for conducting experimental research via a physically generated blast approach.
Advanced biosensing in the terahertz (THz) sub-wavelength regime. This project will build on Australian excellence in photonics, exploiting the advanced use of T-rays for sensing of biological substances such as proteins and DNA. For the first time, this will enable contactless automated sensing for high-speed medical screening of diseases, a critical step toward the ultimate vision of customised medicine.
Dynamic phased array antennas for terahertz detection and ranging. The project aims to create reciprocal electrically-tuneable phased array antennas for terahertz waves. The antennas will comprise varactor diodes, analogue phase shifters, and dielectric resonator arrays to rapidly transmit and receive beams with high directivity and performance. The intended outcome is an integrated platform for short-range terahertz detection and ranging. This platform could be used in personal radar and drone- ....Dynamic phased array antennas for terahertz detection and ranging. The project aims to create reciprocal electrically-tuneable phased array antennas for terahertz waves. The antennas will comprise varactor diodes, analogue phase shifters, and dielectric resonator arrays to rapidly transmit and receive beams with high directivity and performance. The intended outcome is an integrated platform for short-range terahertz detection and ranging. This platform could be used in personal radar and drone-based radar, and high-contrast standoff detection. The project could benefit public security and welfare.Read moreRead less
Laser emission at the limit of glass transparency using nanocrystal doping . We will create a new composite glass providing strong fluorescence which fully exploits the high transmission of glass in the mid-infrared. When combined with emerging rare earth ion transitions and precise excitation processes, this project will help solve an important problem in optics; that the overall efficiency and power produced from deep mid-infrared light sources is not sufficient for all industries. The primary ....Laser emission at the limit of glass transparency using nanocrystal doping . We will create a new composite glass providing strong fluorescence which fully exploits the high transmission of glass in the mid-infrared. When combined with emerging rare earth ion transitions and precise excitation processes, this project will help solve an important problem in optics; that the overall efficiency and power produced from deep mid-infrared light sources is not sufficient for all industries. The primary outcome will be a series of robust fibre-based gain modules suitable for high power and very short optical pulses in the mid-infrared. These light sources will beneficially impact medicine, defence, sensing and manufacturing providing excellent opportunities for increasing Australian productivity and global competitiveness. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100001
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,000.00
Summary
Collaborative advanced spectroscopy facility for materials and devices. Collaborative advanced spectroscopy facility for materials and devices: This project aims to enable advancements in electronics, photonics, biomedicine, and sensing through a collaborative, open access facility for advanced optical and chemical spectroscopy of thin films, materials, and devices. The intended capabilities include high-speed, precise and state-of-the-art spectroscopy tools which enable in situ characterisation ....Collaborative advanced spectroscopy facility for materials and devices. Collaborative advanced spectroscopy facility for materials and devices: This project aims to enable advancements in electronics, photonics, biomedicine, and sensing through a collaborative, open access facility for advanced optical and chemical spectroscopy of thin films, materials, and devices. The intended capabilities include high-speed, precise and state-of-the-art spectroscopy tools which enable in situ characterisation at sub-micron scales and cryogenic temperatures, under bio-simulated environments, down to single pixel resolution, with parallel imaging and spectroscopy, and of fluids and biomaterials. The instrumentation will include cryogenic sub-micron photoluminescence and micro-Raman spectroscopy, single pixel optical and dark field spectroscopy, continuous wave terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, wide wavelength microscopic spectroscopy, and temperature-jump kinetics spectroscopy. It is expected that these complementary instruments will accelerate research in materials and devices for plasmonics, nanoelectronics, biomedicine, biochemistry, security, and forensic science.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC140100003
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,389,935.00
Summary
The ARC Research Training Centre for Naval Design and Manufacturing. ARC Training Centre for Transforming Australia's Naval Manufacturing Industry. The aim of the Training Centre is to transform the Australian naval manufacturing industry by creating a new cohort of industry-focused, high-level and broadly skilled engineers and researchers. The resulting network of engineering researchers will enable the industry to more rapidly innovate and solve key problems concerning the efficient design, co ....The ARC Research Training Centre for Naval Design and Manufacturing. ARC Training Centre for Transforming Australia's Naval Manufacturing Industry. The aim of the Training Centre is to transform the Australian naval manufacturing industry by creating a new cohort of industry-focused, high-level and broadly skilled engineers and researchers. The resulting network of engineering researchers will enable the industry to more rapidly innovate and solve key problems concerning the efficient design, construction and sustainment of naval platforms. This industrial transformation will bring significant benefits to Australia as it commences a very ambitious shipbuilding program comprising the design and manufacture of new fleets of submarines, future frigates and patrol boats. The success of these major projects is reliant on developing this cohort of researchers to solve the key research questions.Read moreRead less
Co-design and dynamic mission optimisation of hypersonic flight vehicles. This project aims to deliver fundamental knowledge by integrating the modelling and control with the design of next generation hypersonic platforms. In an era where Australia's national security reliance on geographic isolation and support from allied forces are being challenged, the research outcomes of this project will play an important role in understanding the capabilities of hypersonic systems. The project will also ....Co-design and dynamic mission optimisation of hypersonic flight vehicles. This project aims to deliver fundamental knowledge by integrating the modelling and control with the design of next generation hypersonic platforms. In an era where Australia's national security reliance on geographic isolation and support from allied forces are being challenged, the research outcomes of this project will play an important role in understanding the capabilities of hypersonic systems. The project will also have significant spillover benefits into other complex system domains, where computational tools can be used to aid in design leading to high embedded-IP products for Australian industry. Furthermore, the proposal encompasses a strong research training aspect, with graduates exposed to leading edge industry and academia.Read moreRead less
Ultra-low-loss fluoride glass optical fibres for the future global network. The transmission loss of silica optical fibres limits the capacity of the global internet. Fluoride glass fibres have the potential of reducing the loss by more than 10 times. This project aims to overcome two of the technological challenges of the ultra-low-loss fluoride fibre optics network: (1) commercial-scale manufacturing of improved fibres and (2) signal amplification at 2.3μm. By generating new fundamental knowle ....Ultra-low-loss fluoride glass optical fibres for the future global network. The transmission loss of silica optical fibres limits the capacity of the global internet. Fluoride glass fibres have the potential of reducing the loss by more than 10 times. This project aims to overcome two of the technological challenges of the ultra-low-loss fluoride fibre optics network: (1) commercial-scale manufacturing of improved fibres and (2) signal amplification at 2.3μm. By generating new fundamental knowledge on rare-earth transitions and glass crystal formation, expected outcomes include innovative fibre fabrication methods optimised for space manufacturing. Benefits will include enhanced internet capacity with lower energy requirements, and opportunities for sovereign capability in fluoride fibre fabrication in Australia.Read moreRead less
From insects to robots: how brains make predictions and ignore distractions. This project aims to address fundamental questions in neuroscience and to integrate this biological understanding with the development of leading-edge robotics. Whether a human catching a ball or a dragonfly feeding in a swarm, brains have the remarkable ability to predict the future location of moving targets. The brain predicts in the presence of distractions and even if the target disappears, for example, when hidden ....From insects to robots: how brains make predictions and ignore distractions. This project aims to address fundamental questions in neuroscience and to integrate this biological understanding with the development of leading-edge robotics. Whether a human catching a ball or a dragonfly feeding in a swarm, brains have the remarkable ability to predict the future location of moving targets. The brain predicts in the presence of distractions and even if the target disappears, for example, when hidden behind another object. This project will investigate how brains use both environmental and internal information to select a target and predict its future location. By implementing bio-inspired computations in hardware, this project aims to provide significant benefits such as improving autonomous systems for defence, health and transportation.Read moreRead less
Comparative analysis of sensor noise for target detection in dragonfly eyes. Dragonflies hunt tiny prey in the low-light conditions of late dusk, a signal-to-noise problem that challenges any engineered system. Using a comparative approach across dragonfly species, we aim to use novel optical and physiological measures to determine how sensors with noise underlie target-detection, in varying scene brightness. The project outcomes will be a comparative characterisation of signal-to-noise measures ....Comparative analysis of sensor noise for target detection in dragonfly eyes. Dragonflies hunt tiny prey in the low-light conditions of late dusk, a signal-to-noise problem that challenges any engineered system. Using a comparative approach across dragonfly species, we aim to use novel optical and physiological measures to determine how sensors with noise underlie target-detection, in varying scene brightness. The project outcomes will be a comparative characterisation of signal-to-noise measures of dragonfly eye optics (including eye size) and early sensory neurons. We will match detection thresholds with downstream target-detecting neurons and dragonfly behaviour. This will provide insight into signal detection, which is a ubiquitous problem across information processing, computer vision and autonomous systems.Read moreRead less