In work just published in Nature Communications, a collaboration between University of Melbourne, CUNY, and RMIT University has demonstrated a metasurface that can be switched between edge detection and producing a conventional image. The device integrates a thin film of VO2 that undergoes a phase change at around 68C altering its optical properties opening up applications in remote sensing and biological imaging. A summary of the work can be found in a TMOS blog post here. Cosmos has also covered the work. Story here.
Work led by Dr Nitu Syed has demonstrated enhanced UV and visible photodetection in ultrathin (< 3nm) nanosheets of SnO2 by integrating plasmonic gold nanoparticles onto their surface. The outcomes have been published in ACS Applied Nano Materials.
Dr Alex Wood and Professor Andy Martin are seeking a research fellow to work on levitated nanodiamonds. Applications close 8 June. Details at: https://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/en/job/916909/research-fellow-in-experimental-levitated-optomechanics. Contact Alex (alexander.wood@unimelb.edu.au) for more information.
Last week in Canberra, PhD student Shaban Sulejman was announced as a 2024 Fulbright Future Scholar and recognized by the US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy. Shaban will be taking up the scholarship later in the year to work with TMOS Partner Investigator Professor Andrea Alu at CUNY.
In work led by McKenzie Fellow, Dr Nitu Syed, researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems, have developed a gas sensor using atomically thin transparent two-dimensional (2D) tin dioxide film. The material has a thickness of only 2 nanometres which is 50000 times thinner than a paper. Reducing the thickness to only a few atoms substantially increase the flexibility of the material and makes it ideal for integration into wearable devices such as smartwatches and medical patches. An article about describing this work is here and the originally (open access) article can be accessed by following this link.
Work led by Tim Davis is featured as an Editor's Pick in the latest Optics Express - link here. We show that by extracting structural information from transmission electron microscopy data, including characteristic disorder parameters, good agreement with spectral specular and non-specular reflectance measurements can be obtained.
The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-optical Systems (TMOS) is currently seeking expressions of interest from prospective PhD research higher degree and MSc coursework students. Students should send an expression of interest to Professor Ken Crozier and/or Professor Ann Roberts - a list of potential projects can be found here. Applications need to be submitted before the 14 October to be considered in the first round for 2024 so prospective supervisors need to be contacted well before then. Note that entry to the PhD program at the University is highly competitive and only very high achieving students will be encouraged to submit a full application. Information about PhD studies at Melbourne, including eligibility and the application process can be found here and MSc coursework in Physics here.
In work just published in Materials Today Advances, members of the group, led by Laura Ospina-Rozo, report new results into the optical and near-infrared properties of beetle elytra. We showed that some scarab beetles use composite, non-chiral structures to reflect light where the elytra consist of a broadband reflective structure overlain by a green filter. The green near-infrared reflective elytra may enable both camouflage and passive cooling.
Members of the Melbourne node, Dr Wendy Lee, Dr Lukas Wesemann and PhD student Shaban Sulejman attended the official launch of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) at ANU on the 28th September. The launch was attended by Australian Research Council Chief Executive Officer Ms Judith Zielke, ANU Vice Chancellor Prof. Brian Schmidt in attendance and ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop in attendance.
Work led by Lukas Wesemann published in ACS Photonics reports the use of a metasurface for generating pseudo-3D images of phase objects. His subsequent article in The Conversation discusses its potential application to disease detection.