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Laser-Matter Interaction and Laser Deposition
- Magnetic carbon nanoclusters: We produce nanoclusters with exotic properties using ultrafast laser deposition, a process pioneered at the Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physical Science and Engineering in the ANU. The project will study the formation of nanosized materials to advance the fundamental understanding of nanocluster growth in nonequilibrium conditions of laser plume for better control over the size, shape, and electronic structures of the resulting nanoclusters. The new ferromagnetic carbon nanofoam we discovered last year will be a priority. The observed ferromagnetism in the nanoclusters made of non-magnetic material provides a new class of magnetism that has never been reported before. Outcomes will include new nanomaterials for a wide range of applications.
Dr Andrei Rode;
Dr Nathan Madsen;
A. G. Christy;
Prof. Eugene Gamaly;
Prof. Barry Luther Davies;
- Optical Memory with ultrashort laser pulses: The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a 3D 'write-read-erase' optical memory technology with recording storage density of the order of 10 Tbit/cm3. Our approach uses ultra-short laser pulses to create single "data bits," with the size of a few hundred nanometers, within a photorefractive material. Such bits represent regions where internal space-charge electric fields within the photorefractive material are formed leading to a local change in refractive index. These "bits" can be read using a low power probe laser beam or erased by flooding the material with a strong erasing beam. The research area also includes permanent storage in transparent materials based on the formation of nanometer-size voids by short laser pulses.
Prof. Eugene Gamaly;
Dr Andrei Rode;
Prof. Wieslaw Krolikowski
- Laser cleaning of heritage artefacts: Powerful ultrafast laser pulses have a unique capability to ablate material from the surface without heat propagation into the bulk due to the nonlinear nature of the laser-surface interaction. This quality offers a new application of ultrafast lasers for restoration of objects of art and heritage artefacts.
The goal of this project is to develop a novel short-pulse laser cleaning technology for removal of surface contamination from heritage artefacts in Australian collections. We aim to develop a laser cleaning technique that can remove contaminating material from the surface layer-by-layer with nanoscale precision in thicknesses, and which can be halted once the underlying surface is reached.
Dr Andrei Rode;
Prof. Ken Baldwin ;
A. Wain;
- Excitation of coherent phonons with ultrafast laser pulses: Studies of femtosecond laser-solid interactions where the pulse duration is shorter than the period of phonon oscillations present an exciting field of research in modern solid-state physics. Generation of coherent displacement and oscillations of optical phonons provides deep insight into the microscopic nature of laser-controlled atomic motion. Control over the spectrum of optical and acoustic phonons may lead to better understanding of such complex process in solids as high temperature superconductivity and the transition to giant magneto-resistance. The ability to drive non-equilibrium coherent atomic motion via external flux of photons will open many interesting applications such as the possibility to induce particular phase transitions such as non-thermal melting, para-electric to ferroelectric or insulator-to-metal transitions; to selectively open the "caps" of nanotubes in non-equilibrium conditions.
Resonance emission of coherent phonon may form the basis for high-intensity source of terahertz coherent acoustic phonons. Such a device, which was recently names as a SASER (Sound Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) would have potential applications in phonon optics, phonon spectroscopy, and acoustical imaging of nanostructures.
Dr Andrei Rode;
Prof. Eugene Gamaly;
Highlight article: Ultrafast Lasers Drill Teeth and Improve Memory
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