Magnetically controlled drug release from tissue scaffolds for the treatment of acute burns. Severe skin burns are frequently associated with functionally disabling scarring and the risk of death. New magnetically activated wound seals for the treatment of acute burns will be developed that reduce the need for frequent painful dressing changes and hence facilitate rapid healing with a significantly reduced chance of scarring.
Magnetic Nanostructures for Emerging Technologies: Experimental and Theoretical studies. This project enables collaborations between Australian and European groups in an important and expanding area at the forefront of technology, and facilitates access to state of the art resources in laboratories in Austria and Spain. It carries across knowledge in synchrotron techniques just at the right time, just before the Australian synchrotron goes on line in 2008, allowing time to deepen expertise and t ....Magnetic Nanostructures for Emerging Technologies: Experimental and Theoretical studies. This project enables collaborations between Australian and European groups in an important and expanding area at the forefront of technology, and facilitates access to state of the art resources in laboratories in Austria and Spain. It carries across knowledge in synchrotron techniques just at the right time, just before the Australian synchrotron goes on line in 2008, allowing time to deepen expertise and to obtain specific knowledge. It will help establish a new effort at the University of Western Australia concentrated on developing advanced materials for technology. We will make important contributions to an internationally important area and offer high quality interdisciplinary research training in magnetic nanomaterials science.Read moreRead less
Time and frequency resolved magnetometry. Magnetism is well known as a source of fundamental unsolved problems in material physics and condensed matter. It is also an area famous for practical application: the ability to record and read information from magnetic materials is the basis of nearly all mass data storage devices. The aim of this project is to provide first measures of certain key energies and rates associated with magnetic processes. Through a combination of theoretical modelling and ....Time and frequency resolved magnetometry. Magnetism is well known as a source of fundamental unsolved problems in material physics and condensed matter. It is also an area famous for practical application: the ability to record and read information from magnetic materials is the basis of nearly all mass data storage devices. The aim of this project is to provide first measures of certain key energies and rates associated with magnetic processes. Through a combination of theoretical modelling and experiment design, a new experimental technique will be developed into a powerful analysis tool. This work will establish the technique in Australia and create new opportunities for future study.
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Theoretical and experimental studies of exchange bias in thin films. Films containing layers of different types of magnetic materials - in particular, ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic - have properties which are being exploited in magneto-electronic devices used in recording and manipulation of computer data. These properties are determined by new types of magnetisation processes in the interface between layers. In this project investigations of the magnetic behaviour of interfaces will be ma ....Theoretical and experimental studies of exchange bias in thin films. Films containing layers of different types of magnetic materials - in particular, ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic - have properties which are being exploited in magneto-electronic devices used in recording and manipulation of computer data. These properties are determined by new types of magnetisation processes in the interface between layers. In this project investigations of the magnetic behaviour of interfaces will be made to provide information of value in the design and optimisation of new and existing devices. The procedures to be developed in this project will be applicable to the understanding of the behaviour of a new range of atomically engineered magnetic structures.Read moreRead less
Solid-State Battery Interface Design (SS-BID). This research project aims to use the world’s best performing solid-state ion conductors to develop next generation solid-state batteries. Boron-rich electrolytes will be paired with lithium metal anodes to construct batteries that are more energy dense, safer, have wider operational temperature windows, and aim to be lower cost than existing Li-ion batteries. The current roadblock for these batteries lies in the poorly performing interfaces between ....Solid-State Battery Interface Design (SS-BID). This research project aims to use the world’s best performing solid-state ion conductors to develop next generation solid-state batteries. Boron-rich electrolytes will be paired with lithium metal anodes to construct batteries that are more energy dense, safer, have wider operational temperature windows, and aim to be lower cost than existing Li-ion batteries. The current roadblock for these batteries lies in the poorly performing interfaces between anode, electrolyte and cathode. This research aims to develop new strategies to overcome these barriers and perform world-class measurement techniques to understand and optimise solid-state batteries to provide a commercially viable energy storage solution.Read moreRead less
Probing the internal contacts of all solid-state polymeric ion sensors. The results of this research will enable the development of robust and reliable all solid-state polymeric ion sensors. These sensors will enable solutions to significant environmental problems such as soil salinity and acidity, and may pave the way for new and exciting analytical applications, e.g., miniaturized implantable sensors for in-vivo use, microfluidics and Forensic Science, single blood droplet clinical analyzers, ....Probing the internal contacts of all solid-state polymeric ion sensors. The results of this research will enable the development of robust and reliable all solid-state polymeric ion sensors. These sensors will enable solutions to significant environmental problems such as soil salinity and acidity, and may pave the way for new and exciting analytical applications, e.g., miniaturized implantable sensors for in-vivo use, microfluidics and Forensic Science, single blood droplet clinical analyzers, rugged solid contact ion sensors for use in submersible oceanographic analyzers, etc. The research will develop a unique in-situ neutron reflectometry technique for the study of electrochemical interfaces, providing scientific opportunities for the new Australian Replacement Research Reactor.Read moreRead less
Probing the interfaces of electrochemical sensors. The nanostructured surfaces of electrochemical sensors for iron, mercury and cadmium will be characterised by using a range of state-of-the-art surface analysis techniques. Whilst electrochemical sensors are extremely valuable in monitoring of trace metals in the aquatic environment, a knowledge of the surface chemical physics of the systems is vital in order to widen their use in analytical/environmental chemistry. This project will derive a u ....Probing the interfaces of electrochemical sensors. The nanostructured surfaces of electrochemical sensors for iron, mercury and cadmium will be characterised by using a range of state-of-the-art surface analysis techniques. Whilst electrochemical sensors are extremely valuable in monitoring of trace metals in the aquatic environment, a knowledge of the surface chemical physics of the systems is vital in order to widen their use in analytical/environmental chemistry. This project will derive a universal model for the surface chemistry and physics of electrochemical sensors, enabling environmental scientists to develop unique sensor methods for studying the speciation of environmentally important trace metals such as those mentioned above.Read moreRead less
New High Precision Tests on the Standard Model of Physics and Relativity. Precision microwave oscillators developed at UWA are among the most precise devices for testing the current theories in modern physics, such as relativity and the standard model. With new timely experiments in the laboratory at UWA and with our collaborators in France, we are searching for violations which may lead to a breakdown in the current understanding of physics. This project will strengthen Australian ?know how? an ....New High Precision Tests on the Standard Model of Physics and Relativity. Precision microwave oscillators developed at UWA are among the most precise devices for testing the current theories in modern physics, such as relativity and the standard model. With new timely experiments in the laboratory at UWA and with our collaborators in France, we are searching for violations which may lead to a breakdown in the current understanding of physics. This project will strengthen Australian ?know how? and expertise, which will place us in a position to participate in current and future space missions. Moreover, this represents an opportunity to be involved as the only southern hemisphere users of the most accurate space clock ever developed.Read moreRead less
Spin-dependent interactions: a fundamental basis for spin-electronics. This project will establish a comprehensive understanding of spin-dependent interactions and correlated behaviour of multi-electron systems that are responsible for spin-relaxation, spin transport and spin coherence in spin-electronic devices. Our approach is based on the spin-resolved two-electron coincidence spectroscopy that is inherently suited for studying electronic correlations. Systematic investigations of spin-depend ....Spin-dependent interactions: a fundamental basis for spin-electronics. This project will establish a comprehensive understanding of spin-dependent interactions and correlated behaviour of multi-electron systems that are responsible for spin-relaxation, spin transport and spin coherence in spin-electronic devices. Our approach is based on the spin-resolved two-electron coincidence spectroscopy that is inherently suited for studying electronic correlations. Systematic investigations of spin-dependent interactions in atoms, molecules and ultrathin films will increase understanding of magnetic (spin) properties of artificially structured materials with reduced dimensionality for the benefit of nanotechnology. This understanding will be used to design and control, at the quantum mechanical level, the building blocks of spin-electronic devices.Read moreRead less
Investigation of 1/f noise mechanisms in HgCdTe heterostructure IR photodiodes. Since the performance of any photon detector is defined by its signal to noise ratio, the reduction of noise generating mechanisms is equally important to improvement of the signal. In this project we propose to carry out, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of noise generating mechanisms in HgCdTe detectors using recently developed, two-dimensional analysis procedure. The main objective of this project is t ....Investigation of 1/f noise mechanisms in HgCdTe heterostructure IR photodiodes. Since the performance of any photon detector is defined by its signal to noise ratio, the reduction of noise generating mechanisms is equally important to improvement of the signal. In this project we propose to carry out, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of noise generating mechanisms in HgCdTe detectors using recently developed, two-dimensional analysis procedure. The main objective of this project is to prove that 1/f noise in HgCdTe photodetectors is caused by dark current fluctuations in the high electric field regions of the detector structure. The primary outcome of this work will be the first comprehensive two-dimensional device model that can predict 1/f noise in a semiconductor device.Read moreRead less