Ferroelectric bilayer composites with giant electromechanical properties. This project aims to create a novel bilayer ferroelectric material structure that provides giant electromechanical response at the nano-scale. Traditional electromechanical devices based on ferroelectric materials including position sensors, mechanical actuators, and ultrasonic transducers rely on bulk form. As technology moves toward integrated functionalities, future electro-mechanical materials need to be scaled down t ....Ferroelectric bilayer composites with giant electromechanical properties. This project aims to create a novel bilayer ferroelectric material structure that provides giant electromechanical response at the nano-scale. Traditional electromechanical devices based on ferroelectric materials including position sensors, mechanical actuators, and ultrasonic transducers rely on bulk form. As technology moves toward integrated functionalities, future electro-mechanical materials need to be scaled down to thin film form. Currently, doing this induces mechanical constraints that dramatically suppress the electromechanical response. Using this approach one layer relieves this mechanical constraint while the other gives a giant electromechanical response, providing a pathway for future functional devices. Read moreRead less
It’s a fine line: analytical and experimental optimisation of drawing metal-in-dielectric nanowire composites to manufacture engineered metamaterials. Exploitation of ‘smart materials’ is a major opportunity for 21st century Australian manufacturing if cost effective bulk production is available. Metamaterials are ideal building blocks for such new-age materials, being dielectric/metal composites structured on sub-wavelength dimensions, offering diverse properties unavailable in natural material ....It’s a fine line: analytical and experimental optimisation of drawing metal-in-dielectric nanowire composites to manufacture engineered metamaterials. Exploitation of ‘smart materials’ is a major opportunity for 21st century Australian manufacturing if cost effective bulk production is available. Metamaterials are ideal building blocks for such new-age materials, being dielectric/metal composites structured on sub-wavelength dimensions, offering diverse properties unavailable in natural materials. Fibre drawing is a proven mass-production technology for translating the structure of a (macroscale) preform to microscale and has recently been applied it to fabricate microscale metamaterials. By overcoming fundamental instabilities, this project will transform the technique to manufacture nanoscale structured composites and demonstrate practical metamaterial-based optical devices with unique properties.Read moreRead less
Enhance ferromagnetic ordering by exchange coupling and defect engineering. This project aims to achieve room temperature ferromagnetism in two-dimensional materials via magnetic element doping and defect and interface engineering. Achieving high spin polarisation, high spin diffusion length and effective spin manipulation, the pre-requisites for functional spintronics devices, makes research into two-dimensional materials for spintronics applications difficult. This project could establish a so ....Enhance ferromagnetic ordering by exchange coupling and defect engineering. This project aims to achieve room temperature ferromagnetism in two-dimensional materials via magnetic element doping and defect and interface engineering. Achieving high spin polarisation, high spin diffusion length and effective spin manipulation, the pre-requisites for functional spintronics devices, makes research into two-dimensional materials for spintronics applications difficult. This project could establish a solid foundation for realising qualified spintronics materials for spintronics devices. The expected outcomes are low power, high speed, spintronics devices, enhancing Australia’s strength in spintronics research.Read moreRead less
The development of advanced diluted magnetic semiconductors through nonmagnetic element doping and defect engineering for spin transistors. This project is to develop advanced diluted magnetic semiconductor materials by nonmagnetic element doping and defects engineering for the fabrication of spin devices (for example, spin transistors) and to understand the physics and engineering science of 'spin' behaviour.
Light-responsive spin transport and spintronics with stable perovskites. This project aims to investigate the impacts of spin/orbital degrees of freedom of electrons in perovskites, and to realise efficient spin injection and transport in perovskite spintronic devices. Halide perovskite is a fast-rising star in the photovoltaic field and possess unique merits including low-cost processing, good charge transport and high light absorption. However there are questions regarding their physical prope ....Light-responsive spin transport and spintronics with stable perovskites. This project aims to investigate the impacts of spin/orbital degrees of freedom of electrons in perovskites, and to realise efficient spin injection and transport in perovskite spintronic devices. Halide perovskite is a fast-rising star in the photovoltaic field and possess unique merits including low-cost processing, good charge transport and high light absorption. However there are questions regarding their physical properties. This project will explore the synthesis and characterisation of layered perovskites and lead-free hybrid compounds, and use these new materials in charge/spin transport devices. As a result of the strong charge-spin-orbital correlation in perovskite semiconductors, the project is expected to have a significant impact on not only spin-based devices but also charge-based energy conversion and storage applications related to halide perovskites.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100084
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$760,000.00
Summary
Next-Generation Electronic and Magnetic Materials Characterisation Facility. Next-generation electronic and magnetic materials characterisation facility: This project aims to address two major experimental capacity gaps in Australian infrastructure for research and development of novel electronic materials and nanoscale devices for future technologies. It will establish a facility featuring a state-of-the-art force-feedback scanning tunnelling microscope for studying insulating surfaces, such as ....Next-Generation Electronic and Magnetic Materials Characterisation Facility. Next-generation electronic and magnetic materials characterisation facility: This project aims to address two major experimental capacity gaps in Australian infrastructure for research and development of novel electronic materials and nanoscale devices for future technologies. It will establish a facility featuring a state-of-the-art force-feedback scanning tunnelling microscope for studying insulating surfaces, such as ferroic films, and a magneto-directional electrical characterisation system with a unique nine Tesla full-sphere magnetic field rotation capacity for studying materials in the two to 300 Kelvin temperature range. This facility will bring important new tools to Australia, which is expected to enhance our international competitiveness in the development of next-generation electronic materials and device technologies.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100750
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$315,000.00
Summary
On the origin of high strain in lead-free piezoelectric materials. Legislation against the use of lead initiated a search for lead-free piezoelectric ceramics. This project aims to derive guidelines for the development and implementation of this new class of materials. This project will utilise an analysis technique that allows elucidation of the origin of the high strain in piezoelectric materials. A separate analysis of the three known strain mechanisms in materials with coexisting phases will ....On the origin of high strain in lead-free piezoelectric materials. Legislation against the use of lead initiated a search for lead-free piezoelectric ceramics. This project aims to derive guidelines for the development and implementation of this new class of materials. This project will utilise an analysis technique that allows elucidation of the origin of the high strain in piezoelectric materials. A separate analysis of the three known strain mechanisms in materials with coexisting phases will innovatively correlate theory and macroscopic observation with processes on the atomic scale. The quantification of the contribution of each mechanism will lead to new insights into the enhancement of sustainable functional materials.Read moreRead less
Multiferroic Skyrmion Materials for Next Generation Nanoelectronics. Topological structures, such as domain walls, vortices and skyrmions have recently seen considerable attention due to their potential application in nanoelectronics and new electronic device concepts. These structures are key to the design and understanding of novel functionalities in ferroic materials. The aim of the project is the investigation of fundamental properties of multiferroic skyrmion materials, i.e. their nanoscal ....Multiferroic Skyrmion Materials for Next Generation Nanoelectronics. Topological structures, such as domain walls, vortices and skyrmions have recently seen considerable attention due to their potential application in nanoelectronics and new electronic device concepts. These structures are key to the design and understanding of novel functionalities in ferroic materials. The aim of the project is the investigation of fundamental properties of multiferroic skyrmion materials, i.e. their nanoscale structure, surface topology, dynamics and their interaction with external stimuli. The control of these structures through external electric and magnetic fields, as well as strain and light will be investigated for applications in nanoelectronics and data storage.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101185
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$437,400.00
Summary
Engineering ferroelectric topologies in freestanding membranes. This DECRA proposal is focused on the exploiting controlled motion, annihilation and creation of real space topological defects (polar skyrmions, vortices and merons) in free-standing ferroelectric superlattices. Topological states in ferroic materials arise from spin/dipolar textures (the spins/dipoles can be considered as quasiparticles) which condense to form topological defects. The imposition of precisely controlled elastic bou ....Engineering ferroelectric topologies in freestanding membranes. This DECRA proposal is focused on the exploiting controlled motion, annihilation and creation of real space topological defects (polar skyrmions, vortices and merons) in free-standing ferroelectric superlattices. Topological states in ferroic materials arise from spin/dipolar textures (the spins/dipoles can be considered as quasiparticles) which condense to form topological defects. The imposition of precisely controlled elastic boundary conditions through an applied bending stress, temperature profiles and electric fields to the membranes enables tailored functional responses without any interference from substrate clamping effect. This yields multifunctional materials with enhanced operational speed, sensitivity and energy-efficiencies.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100063
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$980,000.00
Summary
Focused ion beam microscope for trace element analysis and nanomachining. Focused ion beam microscope for trace element analysis and nanomachining:
This project aims to fill the critical gap in 3-D imaging and compositional characterisation of metals, functional materials, polymers, biomaterials, ceramics and minerals at micro- and nano-scales. Coupling of dual column focused ion beam microscopy with secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis will is designed to overcome the long-standing limitat ....Focused ion beam microscope for trace element analysis and nanomachining. Focused ion beam microscope for trace element analysis and nanomachining:
This project aims to fill the critical gap in 3-D imaging and compositional characterisation of metals, functional materials, polymers, biomaterials, ceramics and minerals at micro- and nano-scales. Coupling of dual column focused ion beam microscopy with secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis will is designed to overcome the long-standing limitation of light and trace element analysis in scanning electron microscopes. This facility would provide Australian researchers with a new capability of characterising light and trace elements using scanning electron microscopy. Along with the ability to characterise a diverse range of materials in 3-D, the new system would enable fabrication of functional nanoscale devices for nanotechnology, biomedical and energy applications. Read moreRead less