Kelvin Zhu, Ken and Wuzhou Song are authors on a paper published in ACS Photonics today, Direct Particle Tracking Observation and Brownian Dynamics Simulations of a Single Nanoparticle Optically Trapped by a Plasmonic Nanoaperture. The article describes simulations that were performed to gain insight into optical trapping by nanostructures that were combined with stochastic Brownian diffusion to determine particle trajectories. This research will be a valuable tool for the better understanding of fundamental mechanisms underlying nanostructure-based trapping
Renovations on our Level 5 laboratories are now complete! Funding from the Faculty of Science and School of Physics supported this valuable initiative that will support our research and research training.
Laser Speckle Contrast Image of drying Liquol. (E Miles, PhD thesis, 2018)
Congratulations to Elaine Miles who has successfully completed all requirements for her PhD. As per her citation Elaine investigated the extension of laser speckle based imaging methods to new problems in cultural materials conservation. She showed that it was possible to image underdrawings, obtain in-situ information about canvas paintings and study the temporal behaviour of drying paint. Her research will inform new approaches to characterising cultural materials.
Elaine is now forging a successful career at the Bureau of Meteorology where she is a Senior Ocean Climatologist.
A new approach to in-plane surface plasmon polariton detection is demonstrated in a new article in Advanced Materials Technology by Dr Eugene Panchenko, other members of the group and collaborators at Tel Aviv University. The design is based on metal–semiconductor–metal photodetectors that are acknowledged as having one of the best speed characteristics among photodetectors. The technique has the potential to enable the integration of surface plasmons as signal carriers in future high-speed optoelectronic integrated circuits. More information here.
On 14 November, the 39th Session of the UNESCO General Conference proclaimed the date of May 16th as the International Day of Light. The proclamation of this annual International Day will enable global appreciation of the central role that light and light-based technologies play in the lives of the citizens of the world in areas of science, technology, culture, education, and sustainable development. For more info see lightday.org.
Prospective Physics MSc students are invited to the optics group information session which will be conducted as a ‘walk and talk’ tour through the group’s laboratories in the Basement and on Level 5 of the David Caro Building. The tour will begin with a brief introduction to the group followed by a walk through our laboratories. There will be an opportunity for informal discussions with group members after the tour.
Representing our OSA Student Chapter at the 2017 Student Leadership Conference in Washington DC was a great experience for me. Meeting optics students from all over the world strongly motivated me to be an active member of the society – talking to someone in person makes all the difference. Out of the large range of fascinating talks, a discussion on not-so-linear career planning, lead by Carlos Lopez-Mariscal from Underwater Photonics, impressed me. I’m more than happy to share my insights and contacts with anyone interested! Lukas Wesemann, PhD student
Dr Alex Wood, Professor Robert Scholten are the authors of a new article, ‘Magnetic pseudo-fields in a rotating electron–nuclear spin system’ published in Nature Physics on 7 August. They used quantum sensors, nitrogen–vacancy (NV) centres, in a rapidly rotating diamond to detect pseudo-fields in the rotating frame to explore precession effects via quantum sensing. This defines a new approach to quantum control using rotationally induced nuclear spin-selective magnetic fields and provides an integral step towards realizing precision rotation sensing and quantum spin gyroscopes. The article can be linked from here. An interview with Dr Wood and A/Prof Andy Martin is available at the University of Melbourne Pursuit page.
