A Meet FLEET innovation-and-industry event poster The Challenge Monolayer TMDCs are a unique class of 2D semiconductors, which exhibit properties ideal for future quantum technologies. However, their manufacture and characterisation is time consuming and requires extensive experience. Additional complexity is introduced by stacking monolayers with a high degree of precision. The angle dependence provides tunability of the optical and electrical …
A drop in the sea of electrons: Understanding Fermi polarons and their interactions
Multidimensional coherent spectroscopy (MDCS) on monolayer WS2 reveals Fermi polaron interactions Phase-space filling drives new optical selection rules, where excitons compete for the same electron Identification of a novel, cooperatively-bound exciton-exciton-electron state Recent Australian-led research has provided a world’s first measurement of interactions between Fermi polarons in an atomically-thin 2D semiconductor, using ultrafast spectroscopy capable of probing complex quantum materials. …
What you see is what you get with pre-characterised TMDs: FLEET Translation Program
First project approved for FLEET Translation Program funding PhD candidates Mitch Conway, Abby Goff, and Jack Muir have recently been awarded $31,000 in FLEET’s first round of funding from the FLEET Translation Program (FTP). Their cross-node collaboration between Swinburne and RMIT aims to create a catalogue of high quality 2D materials, namely transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and their heterostructures. …
FLEET’s engagement with rural schools continues
Following on from FLEET’s previous trip to the western districts in May, Centre outreach coordinator Jason Major and COO Tich-Lam Nguyen visited Horsham College north of the Grampians to engage year 7 students and pilot-test FLEET’s Forces and Energy workshop. The budding scientists (all 170 of them) built catapults and balloon rockets to explore Newton’s 2nd and 3rd laws and …
Reaching academic heights in Europe: catching up with FLEET alum Pavel Kolesnichenko
Ex FLEET/Swinburne PhD student Now senior postdoctoral scientist at Heidelberg University (Germany) Hello FLEETers! I am Pavel. I completed my Ph.D. at FLEET, working with Prof. Jeffrey Davis at Swinburne University of Technology (Centre for Quantum and Optical Science). Actually, if your own work at FLEET includes optical characterisation of 2D semiconductors, you might even be using something I built! …
From spectroscopy to crime fighting: FLEET alum Dr Shilpa Sanwlani
Ex FLEET/Swinburne Research Fellow, now financial crime management at ANZ Bank Applying skills learned in physics to combatting financial crime Hi FLEET, I’m Shilpa Sanwlani. At FLEET, I was Research Fellow with Prof. Jeff Davis in Swinburne University of Technology for 1.5 years (2017-2018), using coherent multi-dimensional spectroscopy (CMDS) to investigate novel Floquet states of 2D electron gas systems and …
Bonding exercise: quantifying biexciton binding energy
Two-quantum multidimensional coherent spectroscopy (2Q-MDCS) quantifies precise biexciton binding energy Applications in future devices based on biexcitons in TMDCs A rare spectroscopy technique performed at Swinburne University of Technology directly quantifies the energy required to bind two excitons together, providing for the first time a direct measurement of the biexciton binding energy in WS2. As well as improving our fundamental …
Where are they now? FLEET alum Carlos Kuhn
Solving complex problems, data analysis to aid decision-making, and outreach: from cold-atoms research to defence industry consultancy Hi former colleagues from FLEET! I’m Carlos Kuhn. At FLEET, I was a post-doctoral research fellow under the supervision of Prof. Chris Vale at the Centre for Quantum and Optical Science at Swinburne University of Technology, where we investigated non-equilibrium and topological phenomena …
Probing quantum gases with spectroscopy (Nature review)
December’s edition of Nature Physics is dedicated to ultracold quantum technologies, including a review of spectroscopic probes of quantum gases by FLEET’s Chris Vale (Swinburne), with MIT’s Martin Zwierlein. Ultracold gases are a laboratory for precision, many-body physics – delivering a wealth of insights into collective quantum phenomena, with direct implications for nuclear and condensed-matter physics. Spectroscopic techniques can probe …
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 …
Switching on a superfluid
Exotic phase transitions unlock pathways to future, superfluid-based technologies. We can learn a lot by studying microscopic and macroscopic changes in a material as it crosses from one phase to another, for example from ice to water to steam. But while these phase transitions are well understood in the case of water, much less is known about the dynamics when …
Video explainers for 3MT
Tackling the next climate crisis with polariton superfluids, chocolate bars, ultra-fast laser pulses and chaotic gardening… FLEET’s Rishabh Mishra (Swinburne), Mitko Oldfield and Alex Nguyen (both at Monash University) have recently recorded explanations of their PhD research, submitted for the 2021 national Three Minute Thesis competition. Mitko Oldfield (School of Physics and Astronomy) explains his studies of polariton superfluids, with …
Engaging public conversations at Melbourne Knowledge Week
Melbourne Knowledge Week (26 April-2 May 2021) was an opportunity for FLEET to engage with over 350 members of the public about the exciting future of computing, and the vital role of energy-efficient electronics in that future. FLEET’s sustainable computing booth ran for the full week at the festival hub, with hands-on science demonstrations linked to materials used in FLEET …
Engaging senior school students at JMSS in 2020
In 2020, FLEET continued the Year 10 ‘Future electronics’ course launched the year before in partnership with John Monash Science School (JMSS), Victoria. As well as covering the history of semiconductors, Moore’s Law and computing, the course introduces quantum physics at an intuitive level (with minimal maths) and expands on this fundamental understanding to explain complex, useful quantum states such …
‘Target identified’: teaching a machine how to identify imperfections in 2D materials
Applying machine learning to automated characterisation of atomically-thin materials Just as James Cameron’s Terminator-800 was able to discriminate between “clothes, boots, and a motorcycle”, machine-learning could identify different areas of interest on 2D materials. The simple, automated optical identification of fundamentally different physical areas on these materials (eg, areas displaying doping, strain, and electronic disorder) could significantly accelerate the science …
‘Pivoting’ to virtual: online lab tours in 2020
In the absence of in-house lab tours to introduce school students to working labs and researchers, in 2020 FLEET developed and distributed a series of ‘virtual lab tours’, of varying levels of interactivity: Show-and-tell lab tour via webcam for John Monash Science School (JMSS) students at Clayton of FLEET laboratories at UNSW in Sydney (materials science), and Swinburne University in …
ARC funding for FLEET investigators
Australia’s Minister for Education Dan Tehan announced $280 million in funding for new research collaborations to start next year. This month’s ARC Discovery Project and Linkage Project funding announcement includes eight grants for projects and facilities led by or involving FLEET researchers. While these projects are distinct from FLEET’s mission to build low-energy electronics, they testify to the capacity FLEET …
Seeking the sounds of superfluids at Swinburne
A Swinburne University of Technology study published this week examines the propagation of energy as sound waves in a quantum gas, revealing for the first time strong variations in the nature of the sound wave as a function of temperature. At low energies, this energy travels via the collective movement of many particles moving in sync – essentially, as sound …
Hosting scientific meetings in 2019
FLEET supported significant international and Australian conferences in 2019, which was bookended by major, FLEET-hosted conferences at the end of 2018 (ICON2D-Mat) and beginning of 2020 (ICSCE). With new partner organisation the MacDiarmid Institute (NZ), FLEET co-organised the Conference on Signature of Topology in Condensed Matter in Italy, working closely with the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Almost 120 researchers …
Ultrafast probing reveals intricate dynamics of quantum coherence
Ultrafast, multidimensional spectroscopy unlocks macroscopic-scale effects of quantum electronic correlations. Researchers found that low-energy and high energy states are correlated in a layered, superconducting material LSCO (lanthanum, strontium, copper, oxygen). Exciting the material with an ultrafast (<100fs), beam of near-infrared light produces coherent excitations lasting a surprisingly ‘long’ time of around 500 femtoseconds, originating from a quantum superposition of excited …
Becoming part of the (equity) solution: Catalysing Gender Equity conference
Three FLEET representatives at this month’s Catalysing Gender Equity 2020 in Adelaide. “For me, the conference highlighted how many great initiatives are already in action, improving gender equity around Australia,” said FLEET Equity Chair Jeff Davis. “However, there is still a lot of work to do and everyone can and needs to help change the culture.” Attending from FLEET were: …
New Chairs announced
Welcoming new FLEET committee Chairs: Jeff Davis (Swinburne University of Technology) Equity and Diversity Committee Meera Parish (Monash Science) Outreach Jared Cole (RMIT University) Education and Training Torben Daeneke (RMIT) Industry relations David Cortie (University of Wollongong) Communications Thanks in particular to AIs Torben Daeneke and David Cortie for taking on these extra responsibilities. And huge thanks to the outgoing …
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 …
COEs partner up for pitch training and physics on-stage
Three events last week allowed FLEET members to develop valuable, transferable communications and outreach skills, as well as providing a chance for FLEET to strengthen links with other ARC Centres of Excellence. A pitch training session for researchers from three ARC Centres introduced key communications concepts such as choosing the most effective lead, tailoring the pitch to the audience, presenting …
Flying the future-computing flag at Melbourne Knowledge Week
Over a dozen FLEET researchers flew the flag for FLEET and future computing at the recent Melbourne Knowledge Week showcase. Reps introduced the public to ICT energy use, electromagnetism, superconductivity (via FLEET’s supercooled Mobius track) , and the mechanics of binary operations that underlie all modern computing, via the Centre’s two Digicomputers. The superconducting track and Mobius track proved the …
Ultra-cold lithium atoms shed light on pair formation in superfluids, helping identify best theories
• Abrupt onset of pairing points to best theories for describing ultra-cold ‘Fermi gases’ • Implications for understanding of superconductors, superfluids in future ultra low-energy electronic systems A FLEET/Swinburne study released this week resolves a long-standing debate about what happens at the microscopic level when matter transitions into a superconducting or superfluid state. Correlations between pairs of atoms in an …
Excellence in Research in Australia: ERA results
FLEET’s member universities performed extremely well in recently announced ERA results, looking at the fields of research in which the Centre is active. The ARC’s audit found that in: Physics, every Centre node ranked in the highest possible ranking Engineering, all nodes ranked above (or well above) world standard Materials engineering, fives nodes ranked in the highest ranking Technology, five …
Welcome new FLEET crew members
We have recently welcomed a number of new Centre members, including: New PhD students (in most cases, having decided to continue with us after their FLEET Honours projects): Bernard Field with Agustin Schiffrin (Monash) Oliver Stockdale with Matt Davis (UQ) Yik-Kheng Lee with Jared Cole (RMIT) Zeb Krix with Oleg Sushkov (UNSW) Mitchell Conway with Jeff Davis (Swinburne) Lina Sang with Xiaolin Wang (UOW) New …
Live-streamed FLEET seminars
In 2018 FLEET began a series of live-streamed seminars to help share research results across the Centre, keep members informed on latest FLEET research, and enhance inter-node collaboration. Early-career researchers presenting the seminars gain valuable presentation experience, and benefit from feedback on their research from diverse Centre members. These seminars also provide an opportunity for regular get-togethers in each node, …
Nobel-winning science is key to Australian research: ultra-fast laser physics
Half of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Physics has been awarded to Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses Ultra-fast laser physics key to development of future electronics The technique developed by Mourou and Strickland has had enormous impact across the fields of chemistry, physics and biology, and provides the basis for important …
Laser pulses quadrillionths of a second long probe electronic structure at Swinburne
Quantifying the dynamics and interactions of electronic systems is crucial for understanding the mechanisms that make them useful candidates for ultra-low energy electronics. We need to observe and measure the behaviour of electron interactions at a femtosecond scale (ie, at a few millionths of a billionth of a second). As a research tool, Optical Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy (CMDS) offers the …
Quantum anomaly – breaking a classical symmetry with ultracold atoms
Scaling symmetry in a 2D Fermi gas breaks down with strong interactions between particles Quantum gas studies unlock fundamental physics—with an immediate application A FLEET study of ultracold atomic gases – a billionth the temperature of outer space – unlocks new, fundamental quantum effects. The researchers at Swinburne University of Technology studied collective oscillations in ultracold atomic gases – identifying …
Launch of FLEET Centre of Excellence to tackle hidden energy costs of computing
Official launch: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies 12 June 2018, 11 AM New Horizons Building, Monash University, Clayton We have an insatiable appetite for computing. But our ongoing need for computation is burning more than 5 percent of global electricity. And that figure is expected to double each decade. A new Australian Research Council …
Carlos talks ultra-cold atoms and inspiring schoolkids to do science, RRR
FLEET postdoc Dr Carlos Kuhn described his field of ultra-cold atomic science and the fundamental discoveries made in an interview with RRR science show Einstein a Go-Go. The research will take a huge step forward this year with the commissioning of a new ARC-funded quantum-gas microscope, which will bridge the microscopic (atomic) and macroscopic (visible) worlds. Carlos also described his …
Single-atom manipulation at Swinburne with new, shared quantum-gas microscope
Bridge between microscopic and macroscopic behaviour A new quantum-gas microscope facility at Swinburne University of Technology will allow studies of ultra-cold atomic gases, giving researchers the ability to image and manipulate single atoms. The facility will allow study of quantum effects at a macroscopic scale: a major unsolved issue in physics. To harness the full potential of such quantum materials, …
Ultracold science and benefits of a changeable career in science: Wolfgang Ketterle
Physics experiments at temperatures a billionth of outer space, and the benefits of flexibility in a science career. Nobel physics laureate Prof Wolfgang Ketterle told a crowd of around 200 at Swinburne University of Technology last week about Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), and other strange states of matter that exist at nano-Kelvin temperatures, which open a new door to the quantum …
Science Says! and other outreach collaborations
FLEET supported the first Melbourne show of Science Says!, a science entertainment event run by The Science Nation, with FLEET’s A/Prof Meera Parish (Monash University) and Prof Chris Vale (Swinburne University of Technology) appearing on the panel at the Royal Society of Victoria. FLEET collaborated with Swinburne University of Technology, Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy, and the Australian …
Wolfgang Ketterle introduces Red to new states: ABC Radio Melbourne
“That’s not right!” Well, yes, it is. Prof Wolfgang Ketterle, in Australia with FLEET, teaches ABC Radio Melbourne’s Red Symons a thing or two about states of matter. In particular, Bose Einstein condensates. Listen below. Ketterle, in town for FLEET’s inaugural annual workshop in Torquay, is visiting the ultra-cold atomic labs at Swinburne today, where FLEET researchers use Bose-Einstein condensates …
FLEET researchers get a $4.6m boost in ARC funding round
This month’s ARC funding round saw FLEET research and researchers across five universities awarded additional funding. Across eight separate grants, almost $4.6m new research funding went to projects and facilities led by or involving FLEET researchers or directly contributing to FLEET’s search to develop ultra-low energy electronics and boost related areas of research. Two projects in particular will be key …
Research in Light-Transformed Materials
FLEET researchers undertake various research projects in the area of Light-Transformed Materials. If you have a project that would fit this theme, find information about a potential supervisor here: PROF. KRIS HELMERSON Ultracold atomic gases Biophysics Biotechnology A/PROF. MEERA PARISH Theory of strongly correlated phenomena in ultracold atomic gases and electron systems Superconductivity and superfluidity Lowdimensional systems Magnetotransport DR. AGUSTIN …