Potential student research projects

Photonics, Lasers and Nonlinear Optics

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

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.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp

Crystal Phase Engineering for Efficient Green-Emitting LEDs

This project addresses the LED “green gap” problem by engineering GaP and AlInP nanostructures to adopt the hexagonal wurtzite phase, transforming them into direct bandgap semiconductors. Using the crystal structure transfer technique, it aims to achieve efficient green emission, enabling true white RGB displays, advanced lighting, and next-generation microdisplays.

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

Bottom-Up Nanolasers for Next-Generation Integrated Nanophotonics

This project develops bottom-up, epitaxially-grown nanolaser cavities with atomically smooth facets that overcome scattering losses in top-down fabricated devices. By exploring advanced cavity concepts—including flatband and topological nanolasers—it aims to deliver robust, scalable, and low-threshold light sources, redefining nanolaser technology for next-generation integrated photonic systems.

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

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

Quantum photonics with nanostructured metasurfaces

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

Prof Andrey Sukhorukov

Integrated quantum photonics

The goal of the project is to understand new physical phenomena arising from quantum and nonlinear optical integration. In the future this research may open doors to new types of computers and simulators with information capacity exceeding the number of elementary particles in the entire universe.

Prof Andrey Sukhorukov, Prof Dragomir Neshev

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.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp, Dr Shan Liu

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

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

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 , Dr Keshu Huang, 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.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp, Professor Andrei Rode

Engineering Inter-spacecraft laser links

Research fields

Photonics, Lasers and Nonlinear Optic
Engineering in Physics

Dr Andrew Wade, Dr Emily Rose Rees

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

Electrically Injected Bottom-Up Micro-Cavity Lasers

This project aims to demonstrate electrically injected InP/InAsP micro-ring nanolasers grown by selective area epitaxy. By combining atomically smooth, low-loss cavities with scalable on-chip integration, it addresses a key challenge in nanophotonics. The resulting light sources promise transformative applications in telecommunications, sensing, and next-generation photonic integrated circuits.

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

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.

A/Professor 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

Advanced modulation techniques for next generation laser stabilisation systems

This project will explore new concepts and techniques in laser frequency stablisation.

Dr Andrew Wade, Dr Emily Rose Rees

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.

Assoc Professor Daria Smirnova

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

Metaphotonics and Mie-tronics with resonant dielectric structures

This project will address the recently emerged new platform for nanophotonics based on high-index dielectric nanoparticles that opened a whole new realm of all-dielectric Mie-resonant nanophotonics or Mie-tronics. High-index dielectric nanoparticles exhibit strong interaction with light due to the excitation of electric and magnetic dipolar Mie-type resonances.

Professor Yuri Kivshar, Mr Ivan Toftul

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

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

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.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp

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, Shreevathsa Chalathadka Subrahmanya

Femtosecond pulse laser cleaning platform for the maintenance of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

This project investigates the physics of femtosecond-pulse laser cleaning for maintenance of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It focuses on ultrafast laser–material interactions, selective ablation of corrosion and coatings, energy deposition and thermal effects, with the aim of developing an effective cleaning platform that minimises damage to the underlying steel.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp

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

Optical chirality in metaphotonics structures

Many phenomena in nature, including multiple chemical and biological processes, are governed by the fundamental property of chirality. An object is called chiral when its mirror image cannot be superimposed with the original object. Many examples of chirality can be found in nature, from seashells to DNA molecules.

Professor Yuri Kivshar, Mr Ivan Toftul

Nonlinear quantum photonics with novel 2D materials

This project investigates novel 2D materials for compact quantum photonic devices. Students will fabricate and characterize material thin films, study their nonlinear optical properties, and use experimental data to simulate metasurfaces for entangled-photon generation, gaining hands-on experience in nanofabrication, optical characterization, nonlinear optics, and quantum photonics.

Dr Sebastian Klimmer, Prof Andrey Sukhorukov

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.

Prof Dragomir Neshev, Dr Maria del Rocio Camacho-Morales

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

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.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp, Dr Ksenia Maximova