Potential student research projects

Photonics, Lasers and Nonlinear Optics

Non-equilibrium quantum condensation of microcavity exciton polaritons

This project combines theoretical and experimental research on exciton polaritons in semiconductor microcavities. We investigate emergent quantum phenomena far from equilibrium and their applications for next-generation optoelectronics devices.

Prof Elena Ostrovskaya, Professor Andrew Truscott

Higher-order mode displacement sensors

A project to advance a prototype displacement sensor to test-type phase, via improved compact mechanical design, vacuum compatibility, and improved sensor testing.

Dr Sheon Chua, A/Prof Bram Slagmolen

Ultrashort laser processing for advanced applications

Laser processing is a cutting-edge technique designed for to clean, texture, enhance surfaces in a way not possible with any other method. It is a non-contact process, which does not require the use of chemicals or abrasives, thus eliminating problems of chemical toxicity and corrosive residues.

Dr Ludovic Rapp, Professor Andrei Rode

Laser-written nanostructures for future photonics

Use lasers to sculpt matter at the nanoscale! In this project you’ll create shimmering holographic patterns and functional nanostructures on metals and glasses, exploring their applications in photonics, anti-counterfeiting, and smart coatings—all while uncovering the physics of light–matter interaction.

Professor Ilya Shadrivov, Dr Vladlen Shvedov, Dr Yana Izdebskaya

Mid-infrared single-mode waveguides for the LIFE space mission

The Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) aims to detect biosignatures on Earth-like planets by collecting mid-infrared spectra. A major challenge is creating low-loss waveguides for spatial filtering. This project explores photonic crystal waveguides, using femtosecond lasers and Bessel beams to fabricate microstructures in transparent crystals for efficient light guidance.

Dr Ludovic Rapp, Dr Shan Liu

Optical nanoantennas

Antennas are at the heart of modern radio and microwave frequency communications technologies. They are the front-ends in satellites, cell-phones, laptops and other devices that make communication by sending and receiving radio waves. This project aims to design analog of optical nanoantennas for visible light for advanced optical communiction.

Prof Dragomir Neshev

Quantum squeezed states for interferometric gravitational-wave detectors

Using non-classical light states on laser interferometric gravitational-wave detectors, to further enhance the best length measurement devices in the world.

Professor Robert Ward, A/Prof Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Prof David McClelland

Electrically-injected bottom-up III-V micro-cavity lasers

Bottom-up fabrication of lasers via epitaxial growth is emerging as a promising alternative to conventional top-down methods, offering potential to realize micro-lasers with ultra-low optical losses. In this project, we aim to demonstrate electrically injected lasing in InP/InAsP multi-quantum well micro-ring cavities, grown using the selective area epitaxy technique.

Dr Wei Wen Wong, Dr Tuomas Haggren, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Femtosecond laser for ultra-precise cavity drilling in modern dentistry

Development of efficient, versatile and fast laser femtosecond processes for advanced applications in modern dentistry promising a precise pain-free dental treatment for all patients.

Dr Ludovic Rapp

Harnessing non-classical correlations of exciton-polariton condensates

This project aims to experimentally probe and manipulate the non-classical properties of exciton polariton condensates, which will pave the way for tunable generation of quantum light on a semiconductor chip.

Dr Eliezer Estrecho, Prof Elena Ostrovskaya, Professor Andrew Truscott

Single side-band modulators for laser interferometric measurements

A topic with a short-term Engineering project and Physics project, to investigate using optical single side-band modulators for interferometric measurements.

Dr Sheon Chua, A/Prof Bram Slagmolen, Dr Chathura Bandutunga

Machine learning for optics and controls

Optical cavities are widely used in physics and precision measurement. This project will explore the use of modern machine learning methods for the control of suspended optical cavities.

A/Prof Bram Slagmolen, Dr Jiayi Qin, Professor Robert Ward

Quantum photonics with nanostructured metasurfaces

Metasurface can the generation and manipulation of polarization-entangled photon pairs at the nanoscale.

Prof Andrey Sukhorukov

Controlling light with nanostructured surfaces

Metasurfaces are ultra-thin nanostructured materials that can shape and control light in extraordinary ways, but to be practical they must be tunable rather than fixed. This project develops liquid crystal–integrated metasurfaces to create reconfigurable flat optical devices for dynamic focusing, beam steering, and advanced sensing.

Professor Ilya Shadrivov, Dr Yana Izdebskaya, Dr Vladlen Shvedov

Nanowire photodetectors for photonic and quantum systems

Semiconductor nanowires are emerging nano-materials with substantial opportunities for novel photonic and quantum device applications. This project aims at developing a new generation of high performance NW based photodetectors for a wide range of applications.

Professor Lan Fu, Dr Zhe (Rex) Li, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Electrically injected metasurface lasers

Metasurfaces have emerged as a cornerstone for next-generation optics and optoelectronics. This project aims to create metasurface lasers from III-V semiconductor thin-films, that are additionally pumped electrically.

Dr Tuomas Haggren, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Bottom-up, parity-time (PT) symmetric micro-cavity lasers

In this project, we aim to explore PT-symmetric lasing in III-V semiconductor micro-cavity lasers that are epitaxially grown on their substrates, free from any etching-induced damage. In particular, we aim to demonstrate performance improvements by exploiting some of the unique features of bottom-up grown laser cavities.

Dr Wei Wen Wong, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Nonlinear topological photonics

The project bridges the fundamental physics of topological phases with nonlinear optics. This promising synergy is expected to unlock advanced functionalities for applications in optical sources, frequency combs, isolators and multiplexers, switches and modulators, both for classical and quantum light.

Dr Daria Smirnova

Synthesising non-Hermitian gauge fields for microcavity exciton polaritons

This project aims to realise various useful artificial gauge fields for cavity photons and exciton polaritons. These fields are expected to be non-Hermitian and can be used to combine effects of non-Hermiticity and topology, e.g. topological edge states and non-Hermitian skin effect. Realising these non-Hermitian fields is an important step towards practical applications of exciton-polariton condensates and superfluids.

Dr Eliezer Estrecho, Prof Elena Ostrovskaya

Engineering Inter-spacecraft laser links

Inter-satellite laser links are an emerging technology with applications in Earth Observation, telecommunications, security, and, the focus of the CGA space technology group.

Professor Kirk McKenzie, Dr Andrew Wade, Dr Ya Zhang, Ms Emily Rose Rees

Directional metasurface lasers based on coupled nanowire pairs

We demonstrate directional emission from III-V nanowire lasers by engineering waveguide modes in optically coupled nanowire pairs. Arrays of such pairs enhance far-field directionality via non-local resonance, highlighting the potential of metasurface lasers as compact, coherent light sources for applications such as LiDAR and beam steering.

Dr Wei Wen Wong, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Optical metamaterials: fundamentals and applications

Experimental and theoretical work on the development of novel nanostructured materials with unusual optical properties. Special attention to our research is the development of tunable and functional nanostructured metamaterials that interact strongly with light. Such materials underpin novel optical technologies ranging from wearable sensors to night-vision devices.

Prof Dragomir Neshev

Femtosecond laser cleaning of Aboriginal rock art

This project develops safe, damage-free laser cleaning for Australian Indigenous rock art and historic stone monuments, removing contaminants without altering surfaces. Using ultrashort pulse lasers at multiple wavelengths, it combines laboratory optimization and field-applicable procedures, in collaboration with heritage partners and Indigenous custodians, to restore and preserve culturally and visually significant sites.

Dr Ludovic Rapp, Dr Ksenia Maximova

Developing ultra-high resolution optical meta-surface sensors

The project aims to develop methods to improve the sensitivity of optical metasurfaces for the detection of chemical and biological markers. By tailoring a high-precision optical interferometric sensing solution to the optical properties of a metasurface under-test, the project will improve the sensitivity of these devices, developing a new range of targeted ultra-precise metasurface sensors.

Dr Chathura Bandutunga , Prof Dragomir Neshev

Resonant metasurfaces for enhanced frequency conversion

This project explores the design and development of nonlinear metasurfaces, ultrathin layered nanostructures capable of enhancing frequency conversion. Using novel design methods, the student will contribute to fabricate and experimentally test free-form metasurfaces with optimised efficiency, directionality, and polarisation, ultimately demonstrating metasurfaces that can surpass the performance of conventional designs.

Dr Maria del Rocio Camacho-Morales, Prof Dragomir Neshev

Exciton polaritons in 2D atomically thin materials

This experimental project will focus on nvestigation of strong light-matter coupling and exciton polaritons in novel atomically thin materials.

Prof Elena Ostrovskaya, Professor Andrew Truscott

Quantum-well nanowire light emitting devices

In this project we aim to design and demonstrate III-V compound semiconductor based quantum well nanowire light emitting devices with wavelength ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 μm for optical communication applications.

Professor Lan Fu, Dr Zhe (Rex) Li, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Nanowire infrared avalanche photodetectors towards single photon detection

This project aims to demonstrate semiconductor nanowire based infrared avalanche photodetectors (APDs) with ultra-high sensitivity towards single photon detection. By employing the advantages of their unique one-dimensional nanoscale geometry, the nanowire APDs can be engineered to different device architectures to achieve performance superior to their conventional counterparts. This will contribute to the development of next generation infrared photodetector technology enabling numerous emerging fields in modern transportation, communication, quantum computation and information processing.

Professor Lan Fu, Dr Zhe (Rex) Li, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Fibre optic sensor arrays for vibrometry and acoustic sensing

By leveraging hybrid digital-optical methods, we develop new distributed and quasi-distributed fibre-optic acoustic sensors. These acoustic sensors aim to measure vibration, strain and displacement all while localising the signal source along an optical fibre.

Dr Chathura Bandutunga , A/Prof Bram Slagmolen

Ultrafast laser cleaning - The light touch

Laser Cleaning is a cutting-edge technique designed for removal of contamination layers from solid surfaces by irradiating the surface with a laser beam. It is a non-contact process, which does not require the use of chemicals or abrasives, eliminating problems of chemical toxicity, corrosive residues, and erasure of surface structure.

Dr Ludovic Rapp

Nano-scale III-V light emitters on Si

Although planar growth of III-V materials on Si has been widely demonstrated, direct growth of III-V nanostructures on Si remains challenging. This project aims to realize InP/InAsP light-emitting nanostructures on Si substrates by engineering the III-V/Si interfacial energy, enabling monolithic integration of active photonic components on silicon.

Dr Wei Wen Wong, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Nanowire lasers for applications in nanophotonics

This project aims to investigate the concepts and strategies required to produce electrically injected semiconductor nanowire lasers by understanding light interaction in nanowires, designing appropriate structures to inject current, engineer the optical profile and developing nano-fabrication technologies. Electrically operated nanowire lasers would enable practical applications in nanophotonics.

Professor Chennupati Jagadish, Professor Hoe Tan

Metasurface polarization optics and quantum photonics

This project aims for developing polarization optical devices based on all-dielectric metasurfaces. As no bulky optical elements and moving parts are required, these devices are compact, stable, and can operate in a single-shot mode with high time resolution. Potential applications include sensitive biological imaging and quantum state manipulation and tomography.

Prof Andrey Sukhorukov

A gateway to new material states

This project explores how ultrafast, high-intensity lasers create exotic non-equilibrium material states by branching high-energy electrons and stabilising new crystalline or amorphous phases through ultrafast quenching. Students investigate fundamental mechanisms of relativistic laser–matter interactions, aiming to produce and analyse high-energy-density matter with unusual physical and chemical properties.

Dr Ludovic Rapp

Positron interactions with structured surfaces

We are investigating novel effects and applications using positrons and structured surfaces.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Dr Sergey Kruk

Nanowire photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers

In this project, we aim to demonstrate photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) constructed from vertically-standing III-V semiconductor nanowires as the fundamental building blocks. We will also explore more advanced nanowire-based PCSEL designs, including hetero-lattice PCSELs with enhanced in-plane optical feedback and topological PCSELs.

Dr Wei Wen Wong, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Bottom-up, quasi-bound states in the continuum (quasi-BIC) metasurface lasers

This project aims to demonstrate lasing in a bottom-up metasurface supporting a perturbed symmetry-protected quasi-BIC mode, while exploring its unique optical properties. We will also develop fabrication processes to achieve electrically injected lasing, highlighting the advantages of bottom-up metasurface design over conventional top-down laser fabrication approaches.

Dr Wei Wen Wong, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish

Small-package light sources investigation for displacement sensors

Can we use small-package Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) or commercial laser diodes for high-performance interferometric displacement sensors?

Dr Sheon Chua, A/Prof Bram Slagmolen

Machining learning for coupled interferometer alignment and control

This project aims to develop a three-mirror coupled optical cavity system with automated alignment and control. Machine learning will be used to identify optical modes and optimize cavity operation, enabling advanced studies in precision optical control and interferometry.

Dr Jiayi Qin, A/Prof Bram Slagmolen, Professor Robert Ward