Quantification of the Remineralisation of Enamel. This project has three specific aims:
1. To quantify the ultrastructure and mechanisms of remineralisation of enamel using scanning and transmission electron microscopy.
2. To determine the mechanical properties of remineralised tissue and compare with those of sound enamel.
3. To develop an in-vivo optical fibre probe for monitoring and quantifying the changes of mineralised carious tissue during remineralisation.
This project will enable ....Quantification of the Remineralisation of Enamel. This project has three specific aims:
1. To quantify the ultrastructure and mechanisms of remineralisation of enamel using scanning and transmission electron microscopy.
2. To determine the mechanical properties of remineralised tissue and compare with those of sound enamel.
3. To develop an in-vivo optical fibre probe for monitoring and quantifying the changes of mineralised carious tissue during remineralisation.
This project will enable patients prone to orthodontic induced root resorption to be identified and also to assist with validating repair of enamel tooth structure in a non-surgical manner. It is anticipated to result in the development of a novel fibre optic instrument with applications beyond dentistry.
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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
The photonic immunochip: retrieving individual Enzyme-linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) array-units using optical waveguide multicolour fluorescence. Improving the sensitivity and availability of in-vitro immuno-diagnostic tests is a critical goal towards developing real time efficient tools for the detection of infectious diseases, cancers, allergies and auto-immune diseases. The goal is to increase the sensitivity of these tests by reducing background noise that has been a feature of the com ....The photonic immunochip: retrieving individual Enzyme-linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) array-units using optical waveguide multicolour fluorescence. Improving the sensitivity and availability of in-vitro immuno-diagnostic tests is a critical goal towards developing real time efficient tools for the detection of infectious diseases, cancers, allergies and auto-immune diseases. The goal is to increase the sensitivity of these tests by reducing background noise that has been a feature of the commonly used ELISA technology. This will be achieved by developing a novel optical integrated waveguide array supporting a large range of distributed tests, including several based on a novel multi-colour detection scheme. This massively parallel approach will underpin a new generation of low-cost, efficient diagnostic tests.Read moreRead less
Mechanical stresses in holey fibres. The development of holey fibres constitutes arguably the most exciting development in fibre optics in recent years. We will analyze the mechanical stresses in these fibres, which, together with the optical calculations and associated experiments, will allow us to design novel fibre-based devices. This will allow Nufern to develop new products based on holey fibres.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100062
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$240,000.00
Summary
Universal Optical Transmitter for rapid prototyping and system emulation. Universal optical transmitter for rapid prototyping and system emulation: This Project proposes an integrated, multi-user facility for the generation of extremely wide-bandwidth optical communication signals that will help to dramatically improve the data-handling capability of optical fibres and improve the energy efficiency of optical communication networks. The project will modulate the input of an advanced optical tran ....Universal Optical Transmitter for rapid prototyping and system emulation. Universal optical transmitter for rapid prototyping and system emulation: This Project proposes an integrated, multi-user facility for the generation of extremely wide-bandwidth optical communication signals that will help to dramatically improve the data-handling capability of optical fibres and improve the energy efficiency of optical communication networks. The project will modulate the input of an advanced optical transmitter with multi-level, multi-phase signals at multi-Gb/s rates to generate 'higher-order' modulation formats at multi- terra bits per second rates including orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), Nyquist-wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), regular WDM and Optical Time-Division Multiplexing (OTDM). With this transmitter the project will investigate advanced optical communications concepts including 'constellations' of phase and intensity, limitations of nonlinearity in optical fibres, signal regeneration, and all-optical routing.Read moreRead less
Fabrication and design of spun and chiral microstructured fibres. Novel optical fibre devices and especially sensors have established and growing markets in sectors as diverse as medical, aerospace & defence, energy, scientific and process control. This project will build on our existing success in developing microstructured polymer optical fibres (mPOF), and create major new opportunities, both in fundamental science and in applications that could be commercialised. Australia is currently leadi ....Fabrication and design of spun and chiral microstructured fibres. Novel optical fibre devices and especially sensors have established and growing markets in sectors as diverse as medical, aerospace & defence, energy, scientific and process control. This project will build on our existing success in developing microstructured polymer optical fibres (mPOF), and create major new opportunities, both in fundamental science and in applications that could be commercialised. Australia is currently leading the world in mPOF. This project builds on these past successes but moves beyond telecommunications into biophotonics with potential applications in magnetic field sensors, biological sensors, optical tweezers, polarisation emulators and new types of linear and nonlinear modes. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100160
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
Distributed ultra-fast optical clocks for terabit/s communications. The project aims to enable experiments with full spectrum occupation for transmission over field-deployed optical fibre. Future optical communication systems will have to use the full available spectral bandwidth and advanced multiplexing and modulation to achieve ultimate data capacity over a fibre link. To realistically test such links, experiments must be performed over "real-world" fibre links. By linking three telecoms rese ....Distributed ultra-fast optical clocks for terabit/s communications. The project aims to enable experiments with full spectrum occupation for transmission over field-deployed optical fibre. Future optical communication systems will have to use the full available spectral bandwidth and advanced multiplexing and modulation to achieve ultimate data capacity over a fibre link. To realistically test such links, experiments must be performed over "real-world" fibre links. By linking three telecoms research laboratories, the project will create a close collaboration optical network that enables this research. Anticipated outcomes are the opportunity to conduct research over field-deployed fibre links and to prototype and test communication technology over real-world links, creating a simplified path to commercialisation.Read moreRead less
Photonic Crystal Signal Processing and Antenna Technologies. The information society in which we live requires increasingly high bandwidth, low cost communications. This project addresses two critically important technologies needed to meet these demands: signal processing devices and antennas. These devices will be designed using three-dimensional photonic crystals, which provide excellent possibilities for low-cost, highly integrated photonic circuits. Working prototypes will be built at micro ....Photonic Crystal Signal Processing and Antenna Technologies. The information society in which we live requires increasingly high bandwidth, low cost communications. This project addresses two critically important technologies needed to meet these demands: signal processing devices and antennas. These devices will be designed using three-dimensional photonic crystals, which provide excellent possibilities for low-cost, highly integrated photonic circuits. Working prototypes will be built at microwave frequencies, but due to the scalability of electromagnetic theory these results are also valid in the optical domain. The outcomes of this project will be accurate theoretical models and empirical tests for new technologies that satisfy the future needs of the information society.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