The QMNC science and engineering research centre in micro- and nanotechnologies focusses on the following research themes:
- Sustainable energy technologies
- Novel devices and materials
- Complex systems and signals
- Theory and Modelling
Following is the list of current major research projects:
Surfaces, interfaces, porous materials and membranes
Project Leader
Greg Hope
Team Members
Debra Bernhardt, Chris Brown, Sima Dimitrijev, John Dobson, Tim Gould, Evan Gray, Gretel Heber, Francesca Iacopi, Owen Jepps, James Reid, Jim Webb, Xiangdong Yao, Guangshan Zhu
Micro- and nanotechnology rely on the ability to design and control the surface of materials, and their interaction with other materials or fluids (i.e. at interfaces, in porous materials and in membranes). This is a core project for the Centre covering three of the research themes which are: Sustainable energy technologies; Novel devices and materials; and Theory and modelling, and QMNC members are involved in studies including: research on the design of materials for clean energy applications; commercially oriented research on design of surfaces and interfaces for memory applications; applied research on the development surfaces for environmentally friendly mineral flotation and gas storage; and theoretical and computational research on the passage of fluids through pores and the interaction between surfaces.
Materials for energy storage and conversion
Project Leader
Evan Gray
Team members
Chris Brown, Sima Dimitrijev, John Dobson, Tim Gould, Barry Harrison, Andrzej Radlinski, Philip Tanner, Jim Webb, Xiangdong Yao, Guangshan Zhu
This project addresses issue of energy storage and conversion by developing new, diverse energy sources and solutions to reduce the environmental impact of energy use. QMNC members explore a number of avenues to address the issue of energy storage and conversion including hydrogen storage, carbon dioxide sequestration, solar energy cells and biophotonics.
Transport and flow in biomedical systems
Project Leader
Peter Johnston
Team Members
Yuri Anissimov, Debra Bernhardt, John Dobson, Evan Gray, Owen Jepps, Barbara Johnston, Yong Zhu
This project will investigate a number of processes involving flow and transport in the body which is of interest in health (e.g. understanding circulation), and medical (e.g. drug delivery) applications. Problems that are currently being explored in QMNC include investigations on: development of shear stresses due to small-scale features in arteries; transport across skin; controlled release of drugs using magnetic particles; and transport of current through the body. Theory and modelling by QMNC members have been supported by close collaboration with Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Department of Medicine, University of Tasmania.
Intelligent memory networks: a new approach to pattern recognition and other cognitive tasks
Project Leader
Sima Dimitrijev
This project is about utilising memory elements in a way that can significantly increase the functionality of systems able to perform cognitive tasks. Intelligent machines built from intelligent memory networks and chips of high physical and functional complexity can significantly minimize routine work performed by humans and can also perform tasks that are not feasible today.
This approach is different from the neural-network approach in several fundamental aspects: (1) binary decisions are made at the cell level (local binary decisions), (2) the elementary cells are grouped into modules (more complex cells), and (3) the cells and modules evolve into complex systems with a hierarchical structure. This project has three major phases: (1) low complexity level with software-based implementation, (2) medium complexity level with implementation in field-programmable arrays, and (3) high complexity level with implementation as intelligent memory chips.
Silicon carbide on silicon (SiC on Si) technology
Project Leaders
Barry Harrison and Sima Dimitrijev
Team Members
Jisheng Han, Greg Hope, Francesca Iacopi, Faisal Mohd-Yasin, Philip Tanner, Li Wang, Yong Zhu
This project explores applications of the platform technology of SiC on Si. The application of the hybrid materials is legend and includes the areas of semi conductor memories, power integrated electronics, MicroElectroMechanicalSystems (MEMS), growth platform for other compound materials such as GaN and as a heterojunction material for solar cell and high gain bipolar devices.
One of the features of the new devices that is of considerable interest to our Centre is their energy efficiency.
To date the main application has been the use of 3C SiC onto Si for memory applications and this will continue to be one of the main drivers. Research breakthroughs include low temperature epitaxy of 3C SiC on Si, charge retention times at 85C in excess of 10 years and MOS purity oxides to enable quality MOS devices in SiC.
Fundamental studies on micro- and nanoscale systems
Project Leader
John Dobson
Team Members
Debra Bernhardt, Chris Brown, Tim Gould, Evan Gray, Greg Hope, Owen Jepps, Barbara Johnston, James Reid, Jim Webb
In order to strategically develop new micro- and nanotechnologies, open questions on the behaviour of these small systems need to be addressed. Micro- and nanoscale systems exhibit unique properties that could not be predicted from the theory of large-scale systems. QMNC members have played a significant role in addressing these issues. For example, interactions between systems with nanoscale dimensions have been shown by Dobson to be quite unexpected; this work has attracted much attention and has been published in high quality journals. Similarly, the theory of fluctuations in confined fluids and the response of systems to changes (such as changing the temperature or application of strain) has been developed by Bernhardt and co-workers. Collaboration with experimentalists has allowed some of the results to be tested and others have been tested using computer simulations. Fundamental theoretical and experimental studies of molecular interactions also allow predictions to be made on the formation of micro- and nanostructures, and these have been used to develop new strategies for applications such as fuel storage.
Preparation, properties and applications of graphene
Project Leader
John Dobson
Team Members
Chris Brown, Sima Dimitrijev, Tim Gould, Evan Gray, Francesca Iacopi, Qin Li, Li Wang, Jim Webb