Higher Degree by Research Application Portal

For thousands of years, optics has revolved around the manipulation of light using a lens. Microscopes and cameras all have lenses in them where different shaped lenses created with different materials manipulate light by reflecting refracting and transmitting in different ways. We’ve gotten pretty good at harnessing traditional optics to do amazing things—we can communicate across the globe in real time, see into our body’s cells, and take a perfect selfie. But there is only so far that we can push the laws of physics. The nature of light means that lenses are as small as they’re going to get. Devices can’t be further miniaturised without a new type of optics.

Meta-optics manipulates light using metasurfaces formed by millions of nanostructures smaller than a wave of light grouped together. As light passes over them, the structures can manipulate the wave, similar to how a lens does, but at a much smaller scale.

Because meta-surfaces are much smaller than traditional optics they will be less expensive to put on drones and satellites, easier to fit into small devices, and cheaper to produce.

Holographic displays, night vision, wearable optical sensors, LIDAR, remote sensing, mobile medical diagnostics, augmented reality and quantum communications systems are just a few of the technologies to be reimagined with meta-optics.

Metasurfaces will one day turn your reading glasses into night-vision ones, replace blood tests with breath tests, enable autonomous cards to identify potential harzards and alert you when food in your fridge has gone bad.

We have multiple PhD scholarships available, providing an excellent environment for growth and professional development. As a part of our team, you will have access to cutting-edge resources and expertise, incl. the Western Australian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility; enabling you to make significant contributions in science and engineering.

Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems

Mariusz Martyniuk (mariusz.martyniuk@uwa.edu.au)

https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/mariusz-martyniuk

Preferred background in Physics, Electrical and/or Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related fields.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for a RTP scholarship in the appropriate scholarship round which are open thus:
Domestic applicants - 1 Sep to 31 Oct
International applicants - 1 July to 30 Aug
https://www.uwa.edu.au/study/research/research-scholarships

Once suitable candidates are identified the opportunity may end before the closing date.

The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) and The University of Westerns Australia supports novel research in areas of Infrared Technologies and Microelectromechanical Systems. TMOS aims to develop the next generation of smart and miniaturised optical systems with functionalities beyond what is conceivable today to overcome scientific problems in light generation, manipulation and detection at the nanoscale to underpin future technologies, including real-time holographic displays, artificial vision for autonomous systems to see the invisible, wearable medical devices and ultra-fast light-based WiFi.