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
Optical supercontinuum generation from high pulse-energy optical sources. The aim of this project is to develop a broadband and high brightness optical fibre source based on optical supercontinuum generation (i.e. low-coherence optical signals with octave or more bandwidth). Unlike similar sources demonstrated recently which rely on expensive bulk femtosecond pump lasers, this source will be pumped by a large pulse-energy optical fibre laser and use stimulated Raman scattering to seed the contin ....Optical supercontinuum generation from high pulse-energy optical sources. The aim of this project is to develop a broadband and high brightness optical fibre source based on optical supercontinuum generation (i.e. low-coherence optical signals with octave or more bandwidth). Unlike similar sources demonstrated recently which rely on expensive bulk femtosecond pump lasers, this source will be pumped by a large pulse-energy optical fibre laser and use stimulated Raman scattering to seed the continuum generation. The primary outcome will be a compact low-cost all-fibre supercontinuum source with a wide range of applications in areas such as optical metrology, optical coherence tomography, and high resolution non-contact position and motion sensing.Read moreRead less
Advanced Atomic Sources for Precision Measurement. Many advances in our technology-driven society rely on the precision measurement of quantities such as accelerations, magnetic and electric fields. A higher level of measurement precision leads to a clear economic or strategic advantage. We expect to provide the Australian industrial and government sectors with new and better methods for making precise measurements with accelerometers, gyroscopes and gravity gradiometers. This proposal will pla ....Advanced Atomic Sources for Precision Measurement. Many advances in our technology-driven society rely on the precision measurement of quantities such as accelerations, magnetic and electric fields. A higher level of measurement precision leads to a clear economic or strategic advantage. We expect to provide the Australian industrial and government sectors with new and better methods for making precise measurements with accelerometers, gyroscopes and gravity gradiometers. This proposal will place Australia with only a handful of other countries as an international leader in the new technology of coherent atom interferometry. It is expected that this proposal will lead to innovative prototype devices as well as significant patentable technology. Read moreRead less
The Development of High Power Cryo-Cooled Lasers and Their Application to Remote Sensing and Other Satelite-based Data Acquisition. We shall develop high power cryo-cooled lasers which will contribute directly to the national research priorities in Frontier Technologies and Safe Guarding Australia. In particular it will contribute to photonics, to remote sensing of the environment and to space based defence and surveillance applications. It will establish Australia as a pioneer in the field and ....The Development of High Power Cryo-Cooled Lasers and Their Application to Remote Sensing and Other Satelite-based Data Acquisition. We shall develop high power cryo-cooled lasers which will contribute directly to the national research priorities in Frontier Technologies and Safe Guarding Australia. In particular it will contribute to photonics, to remote sensing of the environment and to space based defence and surveillance applications. It will establish Australia as a pioneer in the field and generate important IP. It will be of benefit to Australian and international laser and defence industry, and it will be an ideal project for educating young laser physicists and engineers, of which there currently is a serious shortage in Australia.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
Ringed photonic crystal fibres for broadband nonlinear optics. The technology developed from this project will enable organic molecules to be detected, identified and quantified. Because the technology is compact, easily engineered and low cost, it will lead to a dramatically increased capability for infrared spectroscopic measurement throughout biology and medicine, with specific benefits in agriculture, the food industry and defence.
Quantum opto-mechanics with whispering gallery modes in crystalline materials. Deep understanding and fine control of quantum phenomena will be increasingly important in 21st century technology. This Discovery Project aims to develop cutting edge expertise in ultra-precision machining for the realization of crystalline ring resonators that have very high optical and mechanical Q-factors. These structures will enable novel experiments in non-linear optics, quantum state generation, precision met ....Quantum opto-mechanics with whispering gallery modes in crystalline materials. Deep understanding and fine control of quantum phenomena will be increasingly important in 21st century technology. This Discovery Project aims to develop cutting edge expertise in ultra-precision machining for the realization of crystalline ring resonators that have very high optical and mechanical Q-factors. These structures will enable novel experiments in non-linear optics, quantum state generation, precision metrology and quantum opto-mechanical coupling. Results of our investigations will lead to compact devices for quantum information technologies, new geometries for single atom detection, and a deeper understanding of meso-scale quantum mechanical systems.Read moreRead less
Microcharacterisation of rare-earth-doped optical fibres. Rare-earth-doped optical fibres continue to play a central role in optical telecommunication systems and are increasingly being used as elements in optical fibre sensing devices and as fibre lasers. The aim of this project is the application of new high spatial resolution techniques for determining the physical properties of such fibres. These methods will permit unprecedented knowledge of the precise distribution of rare-earth ions in th ....Microcharacterisation of rare-earth-doped optical fibres. Rare-earth-doped optical fibres continue to play a central role in optical telecommunication systems and are increasingly being used as elements in optical fibre sensing devices and as fibre lasers. The aim of this project is the application of new high spatial resolution techniques for determining the physical properties of such fibres. These methods will permit unprecedented knowledge of the precise distribution of rare-earth ions in the fibre and its relationship with the fibre's refractive index profile. This information is critical to understanding the performance of rare-earth-doped fibres in a variety of applications and the outcomes of this work will inform the design of fibres optimised for use in specific applications.Read moreRead less
Galaxy formation and femtosecond frequency combs. I bring galaxy observations from already-scheduled European time on
major international telescopes and I will add significant value to
large US datasets. The scientific return will accrue to Australian
researchers. I bring strong collaborations with the UK, USA, Europe
and Canada, providing galaxy data which Australia cannot otherwise
access. I will establish a new knowledge-base in Australia by applying
femtosecond frequency comb technolog ....Galaxy formation and femtosecond frequency combs. I bring galaxy observations from already-scheduled European time on
major international telescopes and I will add significant value to
large US datasets. The scientific return will accrue to Australian
researchers. I bring strong collaborations with the UK, USA, Europe
and Canada, providing galaxy data which Australia cannot otherwise
access. I will establish a new knowledge-base in Australia by applying
femtosecond frequency comb technology to astronomy. This will cement
Australian involvment in future telescopes. New technology for
Australian telescopes, commercial and industry links are also
possible. Student training is a main focus, providing a future for
Australian research and skills transferable to industry.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