Infrastructure funding for FLEET researchers

This month’s ARC infrastructure funding round saw FLEET researchers across five universities on teams awarded additional funding towards research facilities, including significant new imaging resources in South Australia and NSW. Pankaj Sharma, initially a FLEET Research Fellow at UNSW and now a Centre AI at Flinders University (South Australia), will help develop new, state-of-the-art atomic force microscopy (AFM) facilities for the …

ARC Discovery funding

This month’s ARC Discovery Project announcement saw FLEET research and researchers awarded additional research funding for ten projects building fundamental knowledge and strengthening Australia’s quantum, photonics and nanotechnology ecosystems. See the Australian Research Council media release. Dimitrie Culcer (UNSW); Allan MacDonald. Filling a substantial knowledge gap in novel semiconductors that can function as sensors in a frequency range where conventional …

Yuerui (Larry) Lu wins Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year

Congratulations to Prof Yuerui Larry Lu (ANU), receiving the 2023  Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year—recognising his work in interlayer exciton pairs, paving the way for faster, more energy-efficient future electronics. Professor Lu was recognised for discovering interlayer exciton pairs, which can help to unravel the phenomenon of superfluidity. This discovery is paving the way for new …

Hybrid particles surprise with negative mass

First published Australian National University A surprise observation of negative mass in exciton-polaritons has added yet another dimension of weirdness to these strange light-matter hybrid particles. Dr Matthias Wurdack, Dr Tinghe Yun and Dr Eliezer Estrecho from the Department of Quantum Sciences and Technology (QST) were experimenting with exciton polaritons when they realised that under certain conditions the dispersion became …

Congratulations Matthias Wurdack: Schmidt Science Fellow

Congratulations to Dr Matthias Wurdack (FLEET/ANU), who has received a Schmidt Science Fellowship to develop artificial retinas. Matthias started his’ PhD at ANU in 2018, working with FLEET CI Elena Ostrovskaya to create, investigate and engineer the properties of hybrid light-matter particles in atomically-thin semiconductors with the aim to realise room temperature superfluidity based on this material platform, and understand and elevate …

Leadership training

Four FLEET researchers have received partial Centre funding to attend Women & Leadership Australia Impact program: PhD student Bianca Rae Fabricante (ANU) PhD student Patjaree Aukarasereenont (RMIT) Diversity in FLEET fellow Dr Mengting Zhao (Monash) Research Fellow Dr Amelia Dominguez (Monash) “FLEET’s strategic priorities include developing the next generation of science leaders, and fostering equity and diversity in STEM,” says …

Trapping polaritons in an engineered quantum box

High exciton-polariton density in an engineered quantum box Possible pathway to future, ultra energy-efficient technologies Australian researchers have engineered a quantum box for polaritons in a two-dimensional material, achieving large polariton densities and a partially ‘coherent’ quantum state. New insights coming from the novel technique could allow researchers to access striking ‘collective’ quantum phenomena in this material family, and enable …

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Matthias Wurdack off to Lindau Nobel meeting

FLEET’s research fellow Matthias Wurdack has been chosen to represent Australia at the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting this year. Matthias will be among six early-career Australian scientists attending the 71th Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, 26 June – 1 July 2022. The 71th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting will be dedicated to chemistry, expected to be attended by around …

Losing isn’t always bad: gaining topology from loss

Generating topology from loss in hybrid light-matter particles Observation of new non-Hermitian topological invariant in exciton-polariton system Losing particles can lead to positive, robust effects. An international collaboration has demonstrated a novel topology arising from losses in hybrid light-matter particles, introducing a new avenue to induce the highly-prized effects inherent to conventional topological materials, which can potentially revolutionise electronics. Led …

Sandwich-style construction: towards ultra-low-energy exciton electronics

New microcavity construction technique allows observation of robust, room-temperature exciton transport Polariton performance optimised by maximising photon-exciton energy exchange, minimizing the damage to monolayer A new ‘sandwich-style’ fabrication process placing a semiconductor only one atom thin between two mirrors has allowed Australian researchers to make a significant step towards ultra-low energy electronics based on the light-matter hybrid particles exciton-polaritons. The …

Ultra-short or infinitely long: it all looks the same

Driven states in WS2 monolayers unable to discriminate between ultrashort pulses of light and an infinite, continuous drive Ultrashort pulses of light can adiabatically drive transitions to new Floquet phases of matter Ultrashort pulses of light are proven indistinguishable from continuous illumination, in terms of controlling the electronic states of atomically-thin material tungsten disulfide (WS2). A new, Swinburne-led study proves …

New DECRA fellowships at FLEET

Three FLEET Research Fellows are amongst those receiving DECRA Fellowships in ARC announcements this week. Congratulations to: Dr Matt Reeves (UQ) Calming the Superfluid Storm: Taming Turbulence in Superfluid Devices Dr Eli Estrecho (ANU) Mixing light and matter with complex gauge fields Dr Qingdong Ou (Monash) Engineering twisted 2D materials for mid-infrared detectors. Dr Matt Reeves (UQ) Calming the Superfluid …

Creative, online lab demonstrations maintain international collaborations

How does global research collaboration work, while Covid-19 still prevents international in-lab visits? A recent FLEET collaboration found a creative solution, running in-lab demonstrations of new quantum technologies across multiple universities on two continents. FLEET’s Matthias Wurdack (ANU) and Semonti Bhattacharyya (Monash) were able to consult with researchers in the New York lab of FLEET PI Jim Hone (Columbia University), …

Australian STEM recognised in Shanghai rankings

Great results for STEM in Australian universities in the Shanghai/ARWU 2021 rankings, with Australian universities represented in the world top-100 for all the natural sciences and engineering disciplines except maths. Highlights amongst FLEET’s participating nodes include: Monash and ANU (#28) ranked in the global top 100 for physics UNSW top 40 for electronic engineering Monash, UOW, UNSW and UQ top 100 for material …

Women in FLEET Honours students at RMIT, UNSW, ANU

Please welcome FLEET’s three new Women in FLEET Honours students: Kyla Rutherford (RMIT) Olivia Kong (UNSW) Robin Hu (ANU) Kyla, Olivia and Robin have all received Women in FLEET Honours Scholarships, which are awarded to high performing students doing their Honours research project with FLEET. Kyla Rutherford will be working with Jared Cole at RMIT to understand transport properties in …

Tools of the Trade: Eli Estrecho explains laser trapping for Nature series

A ‘pumped’ laser can be used to trap and manipulate an exciton-polariton condensate. These quantum fluids, which can behave as a resistanceless superfluid in certain conditions, need continuous replenishing, with the pumping laser supplying both a reservoir of electrons and confining force. “The pumping laser can trap the quantum fluid as the particles are repelled from the pump region, similarly …

FLEET reps at Science meets Parliament

FLEET had four researchers at STA’s annual Science Meets Parliament, which was fully online in 2021, other than regional gala dinners. Participants heard from a diverse mix of Australia’s top scientists, including Chief Scientist Cathy Foley and Chief Defence Scientist Tanya Monro. FLEET’s four ECR delegates—Eli Estrecho (ANU), Peggy (Qi) Zhang (UNSW), Gary Beane (Monash) and Harley Scammell (UNSW)—were introduced …

A new, positive approach could be the key to next-generation, transparent electronics

A new study, out this week, could pave the way to revolutionary, transparent electronics. Such see-through devices could potentially be integrated in glass, in flexible displays and in smart contact lenses, bringing to life futuristic devices that seem like the product of science fiction. For several decades, researchers have sought a new class of electronics based on semiconducting oxides, whose …

Sloshing quantum fluids of light and matter to probe superfluidity

The ‘sloshing’ of a quantum fluid comprised of light and matter reveals superfluid properties. An Australian-led team of physicists have successfully created sloshing quantum liquids in a ‘bucket’ formed by containment lasers. “These quantum fluids are expected to be as wavy as the oceans, but catching clear pictures of the waves is an experimental challenge,” says lead author Dr Eliezer …

Scientists create armour for fragile quantum technology

An international team of scientists has invented the equivalent of body armour for extremely fragile quantum systems, which will make them robust enough to be used as the basis for a new generation of low-energy electronics. The scientists applied the armour by gently squashing droplets of liquid metal gallium onto the materials, coating them with gallium oxide. Protection is crucial …

Encasing fragile 2D semiconductors in ultrathin glass: A route towards compact ultra-low energy electronics

Encasing fragile 2D materials in ultrathin gallium-oxide glass could allow integration into functional low-energy devices Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have emerged during the past decade as extremely promising for future electronic and optoelectronic devices. However, to unlock the significant potential of these fragile materials, we must first find a way to protect them in functional devices, while maintaining their key electronic …

Congratulations Matthias Wurdack

Congratulations to ANU’s Matthias Wurdack on winning the AIP NSW Postgraduate Award this month for his presentation “Towards future low-energy transistor technologies with exciton-polariton superfluids in atomically thin semiconductors.” Matthias received the 2020 AIP Crystal Postgraduate figurine, and a $500 award from the Australian Institute of Physics. The NSW Branch of the Australian Institute of Physics in conjunction with the …

New organic material unlocks faster and more flexible electronic devices at ANU

Mobile phones and other electronic devices made from an organic material that is thin, bendable and more powerful are now a step closer thanks to new research led by scientists at The Australian University (ANU). Lead researchers Dr Ankur Sharma and Associate Professor Larry Lu say it would help create the next generation of ultra-fast electronic chips, which promise to be much faster than current electronic chips we use. “Conventional devices run …

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Research theme II virtual workshop

A two-day live-streamed workshop brought 30 researchers from across FLEET together last week, organised by ANU Research Fellows Maciej Pieczarka and Eliezer Estrecho. FLEET’s second research theme uses a quantum state known as a superfluid to achieve electrical current flow with minimal wasted dissipation of energy. In a superfluid, scattering is prohibited by quantum statistics, and all particles flow with …

Congratulations Maciej Pieczarka ANU

Congratulations to FLEET’s Maciej Pieczarka, who has been awarded the START award for young Polish scientists by the Foundation for Polish Science. Dr  Pieczarka is an experimental physicist working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Australian National University in Prof Elena Ostrovskaya’s group. Within FLEET, Maciej studies exciton-polariton condensates, focusing on dynamical condensation and phase transitions of exciton-polariton fluids …

Hosting research seminars in 2019

FLEET’s live-streamed seminars help share research results across the Centre, keeping members informed on latest FLEET research, and enhancing inter-node collaboration. Early-career researchers presenting the seminars gain valuable presentation experience, and benefit from immediate feedback on their research from diverse Centre members. In 2019, FLEET-wide live-streamed seminars were presented by: Dr Dan Sando (UNSW) Dr Jackson Smith (RMIT) Dr Maciej …

Ghostly particles detected in condensates of light and matter

Australian research collaboration makes first detection of ‘ghost particles’ from Bose-Einstein condensates made of light and matter. The ANU/Monash University collaboration study: Observed ‘quantum depletion’ for the first time in a non-equilibrium condensate Discovered that ‘light-like’ condensates don’t behave as we would expect Observed ‘ghost’ excitations arising from quantum depletion for the first time. Quantum depletion observed for the first …

Developing future scientific leaders

FLEET tops up external funding to build leadership skills Two of FLEET’s six strategic priorities are developing the next generation of science leaders, and fostering equity and diversity in STEM. Establishing career support initiatives for women in FLEET is an important milestone towards achieving each of these goals. FLEET will provide an environment for our early-career women to thrive and …

Introducing future electronics at secondary-school level

FLEET is currently helping to run a Year 10 ‘Future electronics’ course in partnership with John Monash Science School, Victoria. As well as covering the history of semiconductors and computing, and introducing students to Moore’s Law, the course will also be most students’ first introduction to quantum science, and will be Australia’s first introduction to superfluids and topological materials at …

Lindau report

Three FLEET ECRs were fortunate to attend the 69th Nobel laureate meeting in Lindau, Germany, forming an impressive 30% of Australia’s ten-person delegation elected and led by the Australian Academy of Science. This year’s meeting focused on physics, and a number of senior FLEET were amongst the laureates. Our ECRs were pleased to connect with Wolfgang Ketterle, William Phillips, and …