Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Research Themes”
New research supports development of thermoelectric devices to convert waste heat from industry into a viable new energy source Australian industries could benefit from being able to harness the heat by-products from operations Development of advanced materials can sustainably convert waste heat into useful forms of energy to benefit Australia. The work will be undertaken as part of an Australian …
Topological insulators can reduce transistor switching energy by a factor of four Defeating Boltzman’s tyranny, which puts a lower limit on operating voltage New FLEET research confirms the potential for topological materials to substantially reduce the energy consumed by computing. The collaboration of FLEET researchers from University of Wollongong, Monash University and UNSW have shown in a theoretical study that …
Inserting ions into, or between, atomically-thin materials can be used to alter their properties in a finely-controlled fashion. For example, graphene’s properties can be fine-tuned by injection of another material (a process known as ‘intercalation’) either underneath the graphene, or between two graphene sheets. (See article.) “Intercalating ions into layered materials increases the spacing and decreases the coupling between the …
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 …
New study indicates holes the solution to operational speed/coherence trade-off, potential scaling up of qubits to a mini-quantum computer. Quantum computers are predicted to be much more powerful and functional than today’s ‘classical’ computers. One way to make a quantum bit is to use the ‘spin’ of an electron, which can point either up or down. To make quantum computers …
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 …
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 …
Could long-distance interactions between individual molecules forge a new way to compute? Interactions between individual molecules on a metal surface extend for surprisingly large distances – up to several nanometers. A new study, just published, of the changing shape of electronic states induced by these interactions, has potential future application in the use of molecules as individually addressable units. For …
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 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 …
A new type of ultra-efficient, nano-thin material could advance self-powered electronics, wearable technologies and even deliver pacemakers powered by heart beats. The flexible and printable piezoelectric material, which can convert mechanical pressure into electrical energy, has been developed by an Australian research team led by RMIT. It is 100,000 times thinner than a human hair and 800% more efficient than …
“Stripy zebra, spotty leopard, …”. Kids never become bored pinpointing animals based on their unique body patterns. While it is fascinating that living creatures develop distinct patterns on their skin, what may be even more mysterious is their striking similarity to the skin of frozen liquid metals. Pattern formation is a classic example of one of nature’s wonders that scientists …
Important step towards fault-tolerant quantum computing Why is studying spin properties of one-dimensional quantum nanowires important? Quantum nanowires–which have length but no width or height–provide a unique environment for the formation and detection of a quasiparticle known as a Majorana zero mode. A new UNSW-led study overcomes previous difficulty detecting the Majorana zero mode, and produces a significant improvement in …
Why do some ferroelectric materials display bubble-shaped patterning, while others display complex, labyrinthine patterns? A FLEET study finds the answer to the changing patterns in ferroelectric films lies in non-equilibrium dynamics, with topological defects driving subsequent evolution. Ferroelectric materials can be considered an electrical analogy to ferromagnetic materials, with their permanent electric polarisation resembling the north and south poles of …
Enhanced interactions through strong light-matter coupling Why do two-dimensional exciton-polaritons interact? The intriguing quasiparticle the exciton-polariton is part light (photon), and part matter (exciton). Their excitonic (matter) part confers them the ability to interact with other particles —a property lacking to bare photons. In theory, when confined to only two dimensions, very slow (ie, very cold) excitons should cease any …
Spin-filtering could be the key to faster, more energy-efficient switching in future spintronic technology, allowing the detection of spin by electrical rather than magnetic means. A paper published last month by researchers at UNSW and international collaborators demonstrates spin detection using a spin filter to separate spin orientation according to their energies. Ultra-fast, ultra-low energy ‘spintronic’ devices are an exciting, …
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 thermoelectric materials could unlock body-heat powered personal devices, such as wrist-watches A new University of Wollongong study overcomes a major challenge of thermoelectric materials, which can convert heat into electricity and vice versa, improving conversion efficiency by more than 60%. Current and potential future applications range from low-maintenance, solid-state refrigeration to compact, zero-carbon power generation, which could include small, …
Removing random doping allows for reproducible manufacture of quantum devices A UNSW-led collaboration has found that removing random doping in quantum electronic devices dramatically improves their reproducibility – a key requirement for future applications such as quantum-information processing and spintronics. The quantum reproducibility challenge The challenge with making quantum devices is that, until now, it has not been possible to …
Multiferroic BFO’s unique magnetic and electrical properties offer possible ultra-low energy data storage A new UNSW study comprehensively reviews the magnetic structure of the multiferroic material bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3 – BFO). The review advances FLEET’s search for low-energy electronics, bringing together current knowledge on the magnetic order in BFO films, and giving researchers a solid platform to further develop this …
Could a stack of 2D materials allow for supercurrents at ground-breakingly warm temperatures, easily achievable in the household kitchen? An international study published in August opens a new route to high-temperature supercurrents at temperatures as ‘warm’ as inside a kitchen fridge. The ultimate aim is to achieve superconductivity (ie, electrical current without any energy loss to resistance) at a reasonable …
Moore’s law is an empirical suggestion describing that the number of transistors doubles every few years in integrated circuits (ICs). However, Moore’s law has started to fail as transistors are now so small that the current silicon-based technologies are unable to offer further opportunities for shrinking. One possibility of overcoming Moore’s law is to resort to two-dimensional semiconductors. These two-dimensional materials …
What role does heat play in quantum impurity studies? A new, Monash-led theoretical study advances our understanding of its role in thermodynamics in the quantum impurity problem. Quantum impurity theory studies the behaviour of deliberately introduced atoms (ie, ‘impurities’) that behave as particularly ‘clean’ quasiparticles within a background atomic gas, allowing a controllable ‘perfect test bed’ study of quantum correlations. …
International collaboration reviews future data-storage technology that steps ‘beyond binary’, storing more data than just 0s and 1s Electronic data is being produced at a breath-taking rate. The total amount of data stored in data centres around the globe is of the order of ten zettabytes (a zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes), and we estimate that amount doubles every couple …
FLEET physicists from Monash University and the University of Queensland are finalists, named today, in the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes – the nation’s top science awards. The Australian Quantum Vortex team provided the first proof of a 70-year-old theory of turbulence. Turbulence is everywhere, but remains one of physics’ great unsolved problems. Turbulence in two-dimensional flow, and the giant vortices …
What causes quasiparticle death? In large systems of interacting particles in quantum mechanics, an intriguing phenomenon often emerges: groups of particles begin to behave like single particles. Physicists refer to such groups of particles as quasiparticles. Understanding the properties of quasiparticles may be key to comprehending, and eventually controlling, technologically important quantum effects like superconductivity and superfluidity. Unfortunately, quasiparticles are …
Adding calcium to graphene creates an extremely-promising superconductor, but where does the calcium go? Adding calcium to a composite graphene-substrate structure creates a high transition-temperature (Tc) superconductor. In a new study, an Australian-led team has for the first time confirmed what actually happens to those calcium atoms: surprising everyone, the calcium goes underneath both the upper graphene sheet and a …
Quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE)-materials reviewed Magnetic topological insulators and spin-gapless semiconductors A collaboration across three FLEET nodes has reviewed the fundamental theories underpinning the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE). QAHE is one of the most fascinating and important recent discoveries in condensed-matter physics. It is key to the function of emerging ‘quantum’ materials, which offer potential for ultra-low energy …
Imagine an alien world with oceans of liquid metal. If such a world exists, metallic elements are likely the sources of the dissolved materials and particles in these oceans. Everything would be made of metallic elements, even lifeforms. It may sound like a concept pulled straight out of a science fiction movie, but some basic elements of this fantastical vision …
An online audience of almost 90 tuned in this week to hear FLEET CI Dr Julie Karel describing her search for non-volatile memory technologies and associated materials challenges. The talk was co-hosted by FLEET and Materials Australia. Catch up on the talk here Julie described her own work at Monash Department of Material Science and Engineering developing materials that can …
An Australian-led study has provided new insight into the behaviour of rotating superfluids. A defining feature of superfluids is that they exhibit quantised vortices – they can only rotate with one, or two, or another integer amount of rotation. Despite this key difference from classical fluids, where vortices can spin with any strength, many features of the collective dynamics of …
FLEET CI Prof Jan Seidel (UNSW) is co-editor on a new book titled “Domain Walls – From Fundamental Properties to Nanotechnology Concepts” published by Oxford University Press. It is the first to cover the emerging field of ferroelectric domain walls in depth, from underlying nanoscale material properties to prototype and emerging nanoelectronics technology and future research concepts in the area. …
—Written by Dr Iolanda di Bernardo, FLEET/Monash An Australian-led study uses a scanning-tunnelling microscope ‘trick’ to map electronic structure in Na3Bi, seeking an answer to that material’s extremely high electron mobility. In studying the topological Dirac semimetal, the team found that exchange and correlation effects are crucial to electron speed, and therefore mobility, and thus to the use of this …
Coronavirus lockdowns have led to a massive reduction in global emissions, but there’s one area where energy usage is up – way up – during the pandemic: internet traffic. Data-intensive video streaming, gaming and livestreaming for business, university and school classes, is chewing up energy. Read more: Netflix has capitalized on social isolation, but will its success continue in a post-coronavirus world? Estimates can be notoriously difficult and depend on the electricity …
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 …
Congratulations to FLEET CI A/Prof Meera Parish who received an ARC Future Fellowship in this week’s announcement. “The revolution in electronics and the Information Age were enabled by powerful theories based on the concept of the quasiparticle, an object composed of many particles such as electrons,” writes A/Prof Parish. The new ARC Fellowship will support Meera’s work to unravel the …
Interlayer coupling in vdW material Fe3GeTe2 successfully increased by insertion of protons A Chinese-Australian collaboration has demonstrated for the first time that interlayer coupling in a van der Waals (vdW) material can be largely modulated by a protonic gate, which inject protons to devices from an ionic solid. The discovery opens the way to exciting new uses of vdW materials, …
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 …
There’s more to glass than meets the eye. Glasses, which are disordered materials with no long-range chemical order, have some mysterious properties that have remained enigmatic for several decades. Amongst these are the anomalous vibrational states that contribute to the heat capacity at low temperature. Early researchers established that these states obey Bose-Einstein statistics, and the name stuck, so today …
2D vdW TMD heterostructures studied Study correlates interface physics to device performance An India-Australian theoretical and experimental study for high-performance optoelectronics has been published in Nano Letters. The Monash University collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) designed and fabricated a heterostructure comprising two layered transition metal dichalcogenides (WSe2 and ReS2). Integrating new physics in vdW heterostructures Van-der-Waals …
Record output power obtained from piezoelectric, atomically-thin material Remarkable synthesis advance for materials such as tin-monosulfide (group IV monochalcogenides), which are predicted to exhibit strong piezoelectricity Potential materials for future wearable electronics and other motion-powered, energy-harvesting devices RMIT-UNSW collaboration applies liquid-metal synthesis to piezoelectrics, advancing future flexible, wearable electronics, and biosensors drawing their power from the body’s movements. Materials such …
Spin-gapless semiconductors (SGSs) are a new class of zero-gap materials, with fully spin polarized electrons and holes. SGSs bridge the zero-gap materials and half-metals Material’s fascinating spin and charge states hold great potential for future spintronic technology. A University of Wollongong team has published an extensive review of spin-gapless semiconductors (SGSs) . Spin gapless semiconductors (SGSs) are a new class …
FLEET CI Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh (UNSW Sydney) has been awarded the prestigious 2020 Robert Boyle Prize for Analytical Science by The Royal Society of Chemistry. Prof Kalantar-zadeh is recognised for his significant influence across multiple fields of engineering. Contributions to society coming from his research across multiple disciplines include new innovative pollution sensors, transistors, medical devices and optical systems. Many …
‘Twisted’ layers of 2D materials produce photonic topological transition at ‘magic’ rotation angles Principles of Moire-pattern bilayer graphene applied to 2D material photonics for first time Monash researchers are part of an international collaboration applying ‘twistronics’ concepts (the science of layering and twisting 2D materials to control their electrical properties) to manipulate the flow of light in extreme ways. The …
For the first time, FLEET researchers at UNSW, Sydney show the synthesis of ultra-thin graphitic materials at room temperature using organic fuels (which can be as simple as basic alcohols such as ethanol). Graphitic materials, such as graphene, are ultra-thin sheets of carbon compounds that are sought after materials with great promises for battery storage, solar cells, touch panels and …
A recent FLEET homescience exercise explained how simple geometric patterns printed on transparency (‘overhead projector sheets’, to those of us old enough to remember such technology), and overlaid at varying angles, produced a combined ‘Moire’ pattern of varying dimensions. Two sheets of repeating squares produces a Moire pattern of larger squares. Two sheets of repeating triangles produces a Moire pattern …
An international FLEET collaboration publishing a review of atomically-thin ‘high temperature’ superconductors finds that each has a common driving mechanism: interfaces. The team, including researchers from the University of Wollongong, Monash University and Tsinghua University (Beijing), found that interfaces between materials were the key to superconductivity in all systems examined. The enhancement of superconductivity at interfaces (interface superconductivity enhancement effect) …
A new theoretical study at Monash University has improved our understanding of the interplay between quantum and thermal fluctuations (or excitations) in quantum matter. The study found that an impurity within a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) exhibits an intriguing energy spectrum as its temperature is raised above zero kelvin, with the ground-state quasiparticle splitting into a number of branches that depends …
FLEET Partner Investigator Kirrily Rule (ANSTO) introduced an audience of over 100 to the use of neutron scattering in material analysis last week, in a live-streamed seminar co-hosted with the Australian Institute of Physics. Neutron scattering is a powerful tool for investigating the structure and dynamics of condensed matter systems. In particular the magnetic spin of the neutron can interact …
A Monash-led study develops a new approach to directly observe correlated, many-body states in an exciton-polariton system that go beyond classical theories. The study expands the use of quantum impurity theory, currently of significant interest to the cold-atom physics community, and will trigger future experiments demonstrating many-body quantum correlations of microcavity polaritons. Exploring quantum fluids “Exciton-polaritons provide a playground in …
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 …
Automated Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) controlled by artificial intelligence First demonstration of fully autonomous, long-term SPM operation An Australian-German collaboration has demonstrated fully-autonomous SPM operation, applying artificial intelligence and deep learning to remove the need for constant human supervision. The new system, dubbed DeepSPM, bridges the gap between nanoscience, automation and artificial intelligence (AI), and firmly establishes the use of …
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 …
Phonon-polaritons in layered crystals have peculiar properties where they occur at the boundary between materials. In a new study led from UNSW, phonon-polaritons were studied in thin-layer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) by combined scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Prof Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh’s multidisciplinary group at UNSW combined scattering-SNOM single-wavelength imaging and broadband scattering IR …
A mini-symposium on ultrafast laser spectroscopy last week brought together the ultrafast laser spectroscopy community in Australia and New Zealand, showcasing local ultrafast laser spectroscopy research and capabilities. Exciton Science and FLEET co-sponsored the Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy Mini-Symposium at Swinburne, which saw 45 researchers attending from 12 different unis/orgs. At FLEET, ultrafast spectroscopy is used to help understand the microscopic …
UNSW’s Taste of Research program provides undergraduate Physics students the opportunity to undertake a small research project with one of the research groups in the School. Cecilia Bloise asked students Seamus Lilley and Krittika Kumar who worked with FLEET PhD Yonatan Ashlea Alava, to describe the experience for our research blog… What are you working on Seamus? “I worked …
In January 2020 FLEET brought the 10th International Conference on Spontaneous Coherence in Excitonic Systems (ICSCE10) to Australia for the first time. Continuing this 15-year tradition from the global scientific community interested in various quantum phenomena, ICSCE10 was hosted at the Arts Centre Melbourne amidst smoke storms resulting from what was one of the worst bushfire seasons in Australia’s history. …
Researchers have developed an ultra-thin and ultra-flexible electronic material, able to be printed and rolled out like newspaper, for the touchscreens of the future. The touch-responsive technology is 100 times thinner than existing touchscreen materials and so pliable it can be rolled up like a tube. To create the new conductive sheet, an RMIT University-led team used a thin film …
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 …
Improved polarisation retention in ferroelectric a significant step forward for domain-wall nanoelectronics in data storage Engineering defects in ferroelectrics provides key to improved polarisation stability Researchers achieved stability greater than one year (a 2000% improvement) A UNSW study published today in Nature Communications presents an exciting step towards domain-wall nanoelectronics: a novel form of future electronics based on nano-scale conduction …
Superfluids were first discovered as a special quantum state of liquid helium, later dubbed as “Superfluid helium” once chilled past -269 degree celsius, starts to manifest properties that do not occur in other fluids. Penetration through a solid with nano-pores is one of the three fascinating macroscopic phenomena that are well known in superfluids such as liquid helium. It is …
Self-forming quantum liquids on a silicon chip could revolutionise our understanding of turbulence and enable new technologies for precision navigation. Researchers at The University of Queensland have developed the first methods to bring together quantum liquids with modern silicon-chip based technology, allowing the observations of nanoscale quantum turbulence that mirrors the behaviour of a cyclone. Professor Warwick Bowen, from UQ’s …
Since their discovery in 2006, topological insulators have been widely discussed as a promising avenue for energy efficient electronics. Their unique high mobility edge states have a form of “quantum armour” that protects them from electron-scattering events that would otherwise produce waste heat. Unfortunately, practical applications of topological insulators have been severely limited by the small electronic bandgaps in most …
Almost 120 researchers gathered in UNSW last week to discuss spin and strong-electron correlations in the university’s biennial Gordon Godfrey Workshop. The 2019 Gordon Godfrey Workshop on Spins and Strong Correlations was held at UNSW’s School of Physics for five days from 25 to 29 November. The Gordon Godfrey Workshops, which have been running since 1991, provide a forum for Australian and international researchers to exchange ideas and …
first theoretical demonstration of both in-plane and out-of-plane spin highly energy- and direction- dependent behaviour discovered interplay between surface and bulk states plays a critical role in surface spin texture A Monash University study revealing new spin textures in pyrite could unlock these materials’ potential in future spintronics devices. The study of pyrite-type materials provides new insights and opportunities for …
Forget the laboratory, substances that can solve environmental problems by capturing carbon dioxide, decontaminating water and cleaning up pollutants can be easily created in a kitchen, a UNSW Sydney study shows. In a paper published today in Nature Communications, UNSW chemical engineers shone a light on the mysterious world of liquid metals and their role as catalysts to speed up chemical …
Molecular self-assembly on a metal results in high-density 2D organic (carbon-based) quantum dot array with electric-field-controllable charge state Organic molecules used as nano-sized building blocks in fabrication of functional nanomaterials The achieved densities of the 2D organic quantum-dot arrays are an order of magnitude larger than conventional inorganic systems. A Monash University experimental study has fabricated a self-assembled, carbon-based nanofilm …
UNSW PhD student focuses one-km long laser to probe electronic structure Measuring femto-second responses on X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) One of the highest energies of any synchrotron in the world. “It’s a pretty surreal being at the pointy end of almost a kilometre-long laser,” says UNSW PhD student Oliver Paull. “Not because of any danger from the laser (even …
Congratulations to FLEET PhD student Stuart Burns, who submitted his PhD thesis recently, and whose hard work was rewarded by a rare UNSW scholarship to continue to carry out research while his thesis is being reviewed. Stuart is a PhD candidate working with Prof Nagy Valanoor and Dr Daniel Sando at UNSW to study the functional behaviours of ferroelectrics at …
—by Dr Shaun Johnstone (Monash University) and Dr Tapio Simula (Swinburne University of Technology) One of the first things we learn about the absolute temperature scale, measured in degrees Kelvin, is that it’s impossible to get temperatures below Absolute Zero. But in a recent pair of FLEET studies into turbulence, researchers were working in a regime of precisely that: negative …
First observation of excitonic insulator New exotic state was first predicted in 1960s A University of Wollongong / Monash University collaboration has found evidence of a new phase of matter predicted in the 1960s: the excitonic insulator. The unique signatures of an excitonic insulating phase were observed in antimony Sb(110) nanoflakes. The findings provide a novel strategy to search for …
FLEET Associate Investigator Professor Yuerui Lu (ANU) has been named a Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow. The innovation of Professor Lu’s research, which focuses on the next-generation high-throughput 3D microscopy for cardiovascular imaging, was also recognised by the Foundation’s Paul Korner Innovation Award. This project aims to demonstrate proof of the concept for a novel high-throughput 3D microscope using ultra-thin, …
Oxidation of monolayer WS2 in ambient requires exposure to light, and keeping samples in darkness can protect from oxidation Routine exposure to room lights (days) or light microscopes can cause significant oxidation, suggesting wide reaching implications for current and future studies of monolayer S-TMDs To protect monolayer semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides (S-TMDs) from oxidation, they must be entirely shielded from …
FLEET’s goal is to achieve 30% representation of women at all levels across FLEET. To begin to move towards this goal, we needed innovative approaches that would allow us to begin ‘shifting the dial’. One innovative initiative that has met with success was FLEET’s new women-only Fellowships, offered in multiple locations, and across all fields of study in the Centre. …
In a paper released today in Science Advances, UNSW researchers describe the first observation of a native ferroelectric metal. The study represents the first example of a native metal with bistable and electrically switchable spontaneous polarization states – the hallmark of ferroelectricity. “We found coexistence of native metallicity and ferroelectricity in bulk crystalline tungsten ditelluride (WTe2) at room temperature,” explains …
• RMIT–UNSW collaboration combines theory, experimental expertise • ‘Spintronic’ applications promise faster, more efficient computing • New magnetic properties of 2D Fe3GeTe2 (FGT) discovered A theoretical–experimental collaboration across two FLEET nodes has discovered new magnetic properties within 2D structures, with exciting potential for researchers in the emerging field of ‘spintronics’. Spintronic devices use a quantum property known as ‘spin’, in …
Molybdenum based compounds could provide key to hydrogen production for future zero-emissions energy RMIT/Monash collaboration opens promising route towards alkaline hydrogen production A FLEET study combining experimental expertise at RMIT with theoretical modelling at Monash University opens a new route towards efficient, cost-effective production of hydrogen. Researchers discovered that ammonium-doped, hexagonal molybdenum oxide (MoO3) displays extremely promising electronic and material …
Seminal, seventy-year-old theory of turbulence experimentally verified for first time Applications range from Jupiter’s Great Red Spot to electron movement in superconductors Images and video available Two Australian studies published this week offer the first proof of a 70-year-old theory of turbulence. “The studies confirm a seminal theory of the formation of large-scale vortices from turbulence in 2D fluid flow, …
Dr Julie Karel conducts research at the intersection of materials science and condensed matter physics to develop new materials for emerging low-energy nanoelectronic and magnetoelectronic devices. Originally from the US, Julie developed new thermal interface materials to improve mobile-device performance at Intel, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. In materials design, Julie uses complete …
Iron-doping of the topological insulator Sb2Te3 results in useful electronic and magnetic properties, quantified in a recent FLEET study at the University of Wollongong. The researchers studied the magneto-transport properties of an iron-doped topological insulator (Fe–Sb2Te3). After the material is doped via the addition of iron, its electronic structure changes significantly: multiple response frequencies emerge, in contrast to the single …
• 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 …
Welcome new AI Laurent Bellaiche Welcome to Prof Laurent Bellaiche, whose ongoing research collaborations with FLEET are recognised by him becoming a Centre Scientific Associate Investigator. At the University of Arkansas (US), Prof Bellaiche leads first-principles-based theoretical studies of ferroelectrics, magnetic compounds, multiferroics and other semiconductors. He has co-authored over 310 refereed journal articles, his publications have been cited more …
The Josephson junction is one of the most important elements in turning quantum phenomena into usable technology. A new RMIT study establishes a theoretical framework for new optical experimentation on these key devices, with implications for future fundamental quantum research and applications such as quantum computing. Josephson junction studies Josephson junctions can be formed by two superconducting plates, separated by …
Congratulations to FLEET’s Sam Bladwell (right, UNSW), who won the NSW semifinal of Famelab, talking about study of electron spin, and will now compete in the finals in Perth on May 8th. Topological physics has done particularly well in this year’s Famelab, with FLEET associates Dr Semonti Bhattacharyya and Dr Antonija Grubisic-Cabo (Monash University) also qualifying for the Victorian semifinals. …
Dr Dmitry Efimkin (right) is a Scientific Associate Investigator at Monash University specialising in novel materials such as Dirac materials, graphene and topological insulators, and optical phenomena in solids. Within FLEET, Dmitry works with CIs Michael Fuhrer, Meera Parish, and Nikhil Medhekar in Research theme 2: exciton superfluids and Enabling technology A: atomically-thin materials, studying optical and collective phenomena in …
* Two-dimensional magnetism reviewed in new, collaborative review A collaborative FLEET study has reviewed recent progress in 2D ferromagnetism, and predict new, possible 2D ferromagnetic materials. The study also introduces possible applications of atomically-thin ferromagnets in novel dissipationless electronics, spintronics, and other conventional magnetic technologies. The scientists propose a new method of observing 2D ferromagnetism that could reveal new materials. …
New facility improves study of ‘artificial graphene’ at FLEET ‘Like driving a new Maserati!’ The amazing electrical properties of graphene and other 2D, atomically-thin crystals are due to the symmetry of their lattice structure. For example, it is graphene’s famous ‘honeycomb’ lattice that causes electrons to act as they were massless – moving about 70 times faster than in silicon …
FLEET’s Meera Parish has been named 2019 Outstanding Referee, the only one in Australia, by the influential American Physical Society (APS). The APS selected 143 Outstanding Referees for 2019, each of whom have demonstrated exceptional work in the assessment of manuscripts submitted to the Physical Review journals. The Outstanding Referee program recognises approximately 150 currently active referees each year, and …
• Ferroic and multiferroic topological structures offer exciting potential in future nanoelectronics • Commentary piece published this week in Nature Materials The connection from fridge magnets to cutting edge materials science is shorter than what one might expect. The reason why a magnet sticks to your fridge is that electronic spins or magnetic moments in the magnetic material spontaneously align …
Recognising the increasing importance of topological physics, FLEET helped run the 2018 Canberra International Physics Summer School on Topological Matter at ANU – a great opportunity for early-career Australian physicists to hear from leading experts from around the world. Over 90 attendees discovered topological materials’ applications to photonics, ultra-cold systems and quantum computation. Nobel laureate Prof Duncan Haldane (Princeton University) …
