AOS News - The Australian Optical Society - Macquarie University

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Submission Of Copy:Contributions on any topic ofinterest to the Australian opticscommunity are solicited, andshould be sent to the editor, or amember of the editorial board.Use of electronic mail is stronglyencouraged, although submissionof hard copy together with a textfile on CD will be considered.Advertising:Potential advertisers in AOS Newsare welcomed, and should contactthe editor.Rates: Under ReviewPlaces may be booked for placing ads- this attracts a 10% surcharge. Blackand White in main body of newsletter- free to corporate members.Copy DeadlineArticles for the next issue (March2011) should be with the editorno later than 9 February 2011,advertising deadline 2 February2011.EditorMichaël RoelensFinisar Australia244 Young StreetWaterloo NSW 2017Tel: +61 (0) 2 9581 1613Fax: +61 (0) 2 9310 7174michael.roelens+aos@gmail.comAOS News is the official newsmagazine of the AustralianOptical Society. The viewsexpressed in AOS News do notnecessarily represent the policiesof the Australian Optical Society.Australian Optical Society website:http://www.optics.org.au• News• Membership• Optics links• Prizes/awards• Conferences• Jobs/Scholarships• Affiliated societies• ...and moreJune 2011 Volume 25 Number 1AOS NewsArticles9 Barry Inglis Medal 2010: professor Ken Baldwin13 Quantum optics an Australian perspective, by Hans Bachor19 Lidar Work in Adelaide the early years, by Murray Hamilton21 Intermezzo: Vivid Light Festival Sydney25 Optics in the Science and Engineering Challenge, by JohnHoldsworth, John O’Connor and Terry Burns28 Chiral Metamaterials Unlocking Nonlinear OpticalActivity, by David A. Powell, Ilya V. Shadrivov, Vassili A.Fedotov, Nikolay I. Zheludev and Yuri S. Kivshar30 Jung Precision Optics, Adelaide by Alex Stanco34 CUDOS Launch by Ben EggletonDepartments5 President’s Report – Judith Dawes7 Editor’s Intro – Michaël Roelens35 Product News44 Index of Advertisers & Corporate Members InformationCover Pictures:• Vivid Sydney, see page 21.• Insets (left to right)• Chiral metamaterial showing polarisation rotation, see page 28.• Experimental apparatus for triplet manifold transition rate measurements,see page 10.• AOS, written by Dr. Issa, using the Public Art Pencil, see page 21.3

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Make The Most of Your ConnectionThe Optical Society of America is your inside track to the optics and photonics community and your linkto an international network of more than 12,000 optical scientists, engineers, and technicians in some 50countries. This connection, combined with OSA’s strong programs and services, makes OSA membershipa valuable resource for you. Join now!Connect toColleagues• Employment and CareerServices• Technical groups• Monthly magazine,Optics & Photonics News• Major conferencesand specialised topicalmeetingsConnect to TechnicalInformation• Technical exhibits• Affiliation with theAmerican Institute ofPhysics (AIP)• Electronic products andservices• Technical books• Peer-reviewed journals,incl:JOSA AJOSABOptics LettersAppliedOpticsJournal ofLightwave TechOSATranslation journalsConnect to Savingsand Value• Reduced meetingregistration fees (CLEO,OFC, and others)• As an OSA member,you are also a memberof AIP. You’ll receivethe monthly magazine,Physics Today, plusdiscounts on other AIPpublications• Substantial discounts onjournal subscriptions andpublications• Join up to 5 OSAtechnical groups and 2application areas, free• Membership discount toAOS membersOptical Society of AmericaFAX: +1 202 416-6120 WEB: http://www.osa.org2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA4

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011AOS ExecutivePRESIDENTJudith DawesDivision of ICSMacquarie University,Sydney NSW 2109Tel: (02) 9850 8903Fax: (02) 9850 8983judith@ics.mq.edu.auVICE PRESIDENTAnn RobertsSchool of PhysicsUniversity of MelbourneMELBOURNE VIC 3010Telephone: 03 83445038Fax: 03 9347 4783Email: ann.roberts@unimelb.edu.auSECRETARYJohn Holdsworth,School of Mathematical and PhysicalSciences, University of Newcastle,Callaghan 2308 NSWAustraliaTel: (02) 4921 5436Fax: (02) 4921 6907John.Holdsworth@newcastle.edu.auHONORARY TREASURERSimon FlemingSchool of Physics (A28)University of SydneyInstitute of Photonics and OpticalScienceSYDNEY NSW 2006Telephone: 02 9114 0581Fax: 02 9351 7726Email: simon.fleming@sydney.edu.auKen BaldwinLaser Physics CentreANU, RSPSECanberra ACT 0200Tel. (02) 6125 4702Fax. (02) 6125 2452kenneth.baldwin@anu.edu.auJohn HarveyDepartment of Physics,University of Auckland,Private Bag 92019,Auckland, New ZealandTel: (+64 9) 373 7599 X88831Fax: (+64 9) 373 7445j.harvey@auckland.ac.nzHalina Rubinsztein-DunlopDepartment of Physics,University of Queensland,St Lucia, QLD 4072Tel: (07) 3365 3139Fax: (07) 3365 1242halina@kelvin.physics.uq.oz.auAlex Stanco INDUSTRYREPRESENTATIVEGPO Box 2212ADELAIDE SA 5001Telephone: 08 8443 8668Fax: 08 8443 8427alex@lastek.com.auAOS CouncilorsAffiliates: OSA and SPIECorporate MembersHans BachorARC COE for Quantum Atom OpticsAustralian National UniversityBld. 38CANBERRA ACT 0200Telephone: 02 6125 2811Fax: 02 6125 0741Email: hans.bachor@anu.edu.auMin GuFaculty of Engineering and IndustrialSciencesSwinburne University of TechnologyPO Box 218HAWTHORN VIC 3122Telephone: 03 9214 8776Fax: 03 9214 5435David SampsonOBEL, School of Electrical, Electronic& Computer Engineering,University of Western AustraliaM018, 35 Stirling HighwayCRAWLEY WA 6009Tel. (08) 6488 7112Fax (08) 6488 1065Stephen CollinsCTME - Footscray Park campusVictoria UniversityPO Box 14428MELBOURNE VIC 8001Telephone: 03 9919 4283Fax: 03 9919 4698PAST PRESIDENTBen EggletonCUDOSSchool of Physics,University of SydneySydney NSW 2006Tel: 0401 055 494Fax: (02) 9351-7726egg@physics.usyd.edu.auARC CoE for Quantum-Atom OpticsAustralian Fibre WorksBitline SystemCoherent ScientificCUDOSDiOptikaEzziVisionFinisarLambda ScientificLaserexLastekNewSpecoeMarket.comOptiscanRaymax ApplicationsWarsash ScientificWavelab Scientific6

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Editor’s IntroIfound it a bit of a struggle this time to finish the newsletter: any magazine needs tobe printed in page counts that add up to multiples of 4. I had already depleted myusual arsenal of tricks to stretch the articles across 43 pages, but found myself withone empty page left... And then the Vivid Sydney festival opened. A fantastic displayof highly sophisticated optical projection systems blending in with landmark buildingsaround Sydney’s Circular Quay. An excellent photo-opportunity presented itself, on atopic very much related to the society’s main interest: Optics! (results on page 21)It turns out the general public shares our interest, judging by the number of peopleletting out the little “Oooh!”’s everywhere, even on a rainy evening. I was probably onlyhalf as bewildered and impressed as the average visitor of the festival: we’ve seen it allbefore in some form or another, and we’d be able to explain the magic behind it at a flinch.Yet I couldn’t help to think about the myriad of research that must have preceded thedevelopment of these well-oiled systems, now robust enough to be abused by artists...Some nicely polished, massive lenses, a countless number of semiconductor lightsources, and a great deal of oversized waveguides... Have we gone the wrong way, tryingto miniaturise everything? There was even a little nonlinear optics on display: the PublicArt Pencil had a green and a white laser pointer built in!We’re all part of this now. Think of how the world will look like in 20 or 30 yearstime, and let your imagination take over for a second. Which contribution will you havemade to that ever-changing optical wallpaper all around you, or that in-eye projectionsystem that will serve as your main conduct of information? Will it be Android or iOS25.3 running on that optical CPU in your pocket?—Michaël RoelensEditor7

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011www.iqec-cleopr2011.comSYDNEY CONVENTIONAND EXHIBITION CENTREAUSTRALIASUNDAY 28 AUGUST –THURSDAY 1 SEPTEMBERREGISTRATIONRefer to websiteOPEN for how to registerEarly Bird RegistrationDeadline: 30 June 2011International Quantum Electronics Conference (IQEC) andConference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) Pacifi c RimIncorporating the Australasian Conference on Optics, Lasers andSpectroscopy and the Australian Conference on Optical Fibre TechnologyPlenary speakers:Joss Bland Hawthorn– University of Sydney, AustraliaMark Kasevich– Stanford University, USAKen-ichi Kitayama– Osaka University, JapanFerenc Krausz– Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, GermanyEd Moses– National Ignition Facility, Lawrence LivermoreNational Laboratory, USAOskar Painter– California Institute of Technology, USAJun Ye– University of Colorado, USAWORKSHOPS:• Metamaterials for cloaking: fundamentalcuriosity or breakthrough technology?• Will guided-wave parametric processingever move out of the lab?• Platforms for quantum computing– which way forward?8• Modulation formats and signal processingtechniques to approach the Shannon limitCLEO Pacific Rim Topics• Applied nonlinear optics• Fiber amplifi ers, lasers, sensorsand devices• High power laser technology and highenergy density physics• Information optics, optical storageand displays• Infrared and THz technology, andastrophotonics• Integrated and guided-wave optics andthin fi lm optics• Laser chemistry, biophotonics andapplications• Laser metrology and remote sensing• Laser processing, laser microfabrication, andindustrial applications• Optical communications and networking• Semiconductor and electro-optic devices• Solid-state laser and other lasers, andlaser materialsHostsJoint CLEO Pacific Rim / IQEC Topics• Nanophotonics• Ultrafast laser science• Ultrafast optics and photonicsIQEC Topics• Cold atoms and molecules• Fundamentals of nonlinear optics• Precision measurements andfundamental tests• Quantum information science andcryptography• Quantum optics• Quantum science in atoms, moleculesand solidsSponsorship and Exhibition packages stillavailable – refer to website for full detailsFurther information available atwww.iqec-cleopr2011.com or contactthe Conference Mangers:WALDRONSMITH ManagementP: +61 3 9645 6311E: iqec-cleopr2011@wsm.com.au

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 20112010 Barry Inglis Medal:Professor Ken BaldwinThe Barry Inglis Medal of the National Measurement Institute (NMI)acknowledges outstanding achievement in measurement researchand excellence in practical measurements in Australia. This article isa synopsis of the presentation given by Professor Baldwin on receiving thisaward at the NMI on Wednesday 21 st July, 2010.The importance of precision measurementis a hallmark of a modern technologicalsociety. Better measurement techniqueslead to new understanding of the worldaround us, which in turn leads to noveltechnological advances. The devices thatarise from new technology can furtherimprove our ability to measure precisely,and so the measurement cycle continues.There is perhaps no better example ofthis than the measurement science whichunderpins the Global Positioning System(GPS). Each GPS satellite (Figure 1)relies on precise timing information thatis derived from its own internal atomicclock, based on the microwave frequencyof the caesium atomic ground statesplitting. This is the same transition thatsince 1967 has provided the internationaldefinition of the second:“The second is the duration of9 192 631 770 periods of the radiationcorresponding to the transition betweenthe two hyperfine levels of the groundstate of the caesium 133 atom. [...] Thisdefinition refers to a caesium atom at restat a temperature of 0 K.” [1]The adoption of a time and frequencydefinition based on an atomic transitionwas the culmination of many decades ofprecision measurement of atoms whichled to a detailed theoretical understandingof atomic structure. It is this continuinginterplay between fundamental scienceand precision measurement that yieldsmany benefits to modern society such asthe GPS.Ongoing advances in the use ofatomic frequency standards have enabledphysicists to move beyond the currentaccuracy of the Cs standard (~1 part in10 12 ). The next generation of atomic clockswill most likely be based on optical (ratherthan microwave) electronic transitions inatoms isolated in a virtually unperturbedenvironment, either in ion traps or opticallattices formed by intersecting laserbeams. This will enable accuracy at the1 part in 10 18 level – the most accuratemeasurement of any physical quantity.New areas of physics will be thrownopen for investigation as a result of thisunprecedented accuracy and precision.More rigorous tests of general and specialrelativity will be possible, and even morestringent limits will be placed on thevariation in the fundamental “constants”,which in turn will test the validity ofvarious models of the universe. And nodoubt such advances will lead to newtechnologies that may themselves furtherimprove precision, thus continuing themeasurement cycle.Central to these developments is animproved understanding of the structureand dynamics that underpins ourknowledge of atoms. This understandinghas led to the theory of quantumelectrodynamics (QED) which provides aEnergysinglets3 1 S o1 1 S o3 3 D 1232 3 P 0 122 3 S 1triplets3 3 P 012 1 S o 1083 nmtrap laser(metastable)19.8 eV electronexcitationFigure 2. Helium energy levels,showing both singlet and tripletmanifolds.2Figure 1. GPS satellite with on-boardatomic clock.near complete knowledge of atomicproperties across the periodic table. Sinceits genesis in the 1940’s, following on fromthe early advances in quantum mechanics,QED has stood the test of time and isnow one of the most rigorously validatedtheories in modern physics – thanks toprecision measurement.Considerable attention has been paidto testing QED predictions for heliumsince it is the simplest multi-electronatom, and this is where my contributionto precision measurement has been mostkeenly focused. The energy levels of heliumare shown in Figure 2 where the atomicstructure is categorised by the states forwhich the two electron spins are opposed(the singlet states) or parallel (the tripletstates). The triplet states have slower decayrates to the ground state because the spinof one of the electrons has to flip in theprocess, thus giving rise to the “forbidden”character of these transitions.The first triplet state – the 2 3 S 1state– is doubly forbidden, since quantummechanical selection rules prevent S ->S transitions. Hence its lifetime is evenlonger – around 8000 seconds – thelongest lifetime of any neutral atomic ormolecular state yet measured. This longlifetime means that the 2 3 S 1“metastable”state (as it is known) can act as an effectiveground state for transitions to the higherenergy levels in the triplet state manifold[2]. For the same reason the metastablestate cannot be readily populated by a9

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Figure 3. Experimental apparatus for tripletmanifold transition rate measurements.photon transition from the ground state,so consequently it has to be excited byelectron collisions e.g. in an electricdischarge.The metastable state is extremelyimportant not just because of its longlifetime, but also because of the largeamount of stored energy it contains –some 20 electron volts (eV) which againis the largest of any neutral atomic ormolecular species. The electron scatteringcross-section of the metastable state is alsovery large [3]. This makes the metastablestate an important species in discharges,light sources and atmospheric physicsbecause of its role as an energy reservoir.Metastable helium is also important inatom optics – the matter wave analogueof light optics where atoms can be lasercooled,manipulated and trapped at verylow temperatures. Ultracold atoms canbehave either as waves or as particles,because the lower the temperature, thelarger the de Broglie wavelength l dB(= h/mv , where h is Planck’s constant and mvis the atomic momentum) allows wavelikeprocesses such as beamsplitting (forinterferometry) to occur. The laser coolingtransition used to reduce the atomicvelocity by photon momentum transferusually starts from the atomic groundstate, but for helium this transition is inthe extreme ultraviolet (XUV at ~58.4nm). However, because the metastablestate can act as an effective ground state,this allows the use of infrared laser-coolingin the 2 3 P manifold via a 1083 nmtransition which is accessible to a numberof laser systems.This mechanism is used to efficientlylaser cool metastable helium, therebycreating an excited state species for usein atom optics. The large stored energy ofmetastable helium provides an additionaladvantage, since the metastable atomsare easy to detect using charged particledetectors. The stored energy is released onimpact, with the metastable helium atomsacting as “nanogrenades” that enablesingle particle detection.In the metastable helium atom opticslaboratories at ANU we have exploitedthese unique characteristics to performatom optics experiments, and to createBose-Einstein condensates (BECs)of ultracold atoms whose de Brogliewavelengths overlap to form a macroscopicquantum state. These studies – in whichthe atoms are isolated in an unperturbed,ultrahigh vacuum environment – alsooffer excellent opportunities to undertakeprecision measurements on the tripletstate helium atoms.We have focused on measuring thetransition rates to the ground state ofboth the metastable state and the helium2 3 P manifold (Figure 2), whose energyintervals have been measured withgreat precision (1 part in 10 7 ) [4-6].However, the experimental results wereat considerable variance with theory[7,8] - by several factors of ten times theexperimental uncertainty - which appearedto provide a significant challenge to QED.Very recently, this discrepancy has beenpartially resolved by new calculations [9]which reduce the discrepancy to severalstandard deviations.The discrepancy with QED theoryprompted us to ask the question – dothe transition rates from these states tothe ground state also provide a sensitivetest of QED? Interestingly, the heliumenergy intervals are known to a high levelof accuracy (1 part in 10 7 ), whereas thetransition rates were either not known atall (in the case of the 2 3 P manifold), or toat best to within 30% for the metastablestate [10].We used the isolated environmentprovided by our BEC experiments (Figure3) to measure the transition rates. We firstdirectly measured the fastest transitionfrom the 2 3 P 1level to the ground state(~180 s -1 [11]) by measuring the decay ofthe atomic cloud when illuminated with1083nm light (P1) from the metastablestate. The decay rates of the metastablelevel (~7900 s lifetime) [12] and the 2 3 P 2level (~0.3 s -1 transition rate, excited byP2 light) [13] were then determined bymeasuring the XUV photon decay fluxusing a channeltron detector, relative tothe P1 flux decay. The expected 2 3 P 0leveldecay rate – predicted to be zero – was alsoconfirmed [13].The results of the helium triplet statelifetime measurements are shown inFigure 4, together with the experimentaluncertainties. The rates for the 2 3 Pmanifold were determined for the firsttime, while the accuracy of the metastablestate was improved to ~6%. In all cases theexperiments were in excellent agreementwith theoretical predictions, once againconfirming the validity of QED.The singlet manifold also presents anopportunity to use helium as a test bedfor QED theory. In an experiment inwhich I participated in at the US NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology(NIST), we measured the transitioninterval from the 1 1 S ground state tothe first (2 1 S) singlet excited state. Thisinterval can then be used to determinethe Lamb shift in the helium groundstate – reflecting the effect of vacuumfluctuations on this state. We measuredthis transition for the first time, butother measurements of the helium Lambshift using different transitions from theground state had been undertaken withvarying levels of precision (Figure 5) suchas the experiments of the Amsterdamgroup [Eikema et al. - 15].Our experiment aimed to improve onthe most recent previous measurementby using a Doppler-free two-photontransition to measure this single-photonforbidden, ultra-narrow lineshape. Weachieved a result [14] very close - withinthree (48MHz) standard deviations -from the Amsterdam measurement, andin similar reasonable agreement withtheory.The precision measurement cyclecontinues however, and more recentlyFigure 4. Ratio of experimental totheoretical values for the transition ratesshown, with experimental error bars.10

• Theory• Expt.33.0He Lamb shift history34.0 35.0 36.02P - 1S : Herzberg, 1958•Schwartz, 1961Aashamar and Austvik, 19771S - 2Ptogether with my colleagues at MacquarieUniversity we have created a new lightsource that overcomes the inherentfrequency-chirp limitations of the originaldye laser sources used in the NISTand Amsterdam experiments. We havedeveloped an all solid state OpticalParametric Oscillator (OPO) -basedsystem with well-characterised, near-zerofrequency chirp characteristics [16]. Withthis system, we hope to undertake a futuremeasurement that will – along with themore recent Amsterdam experiments –challenge QED theory to better than 10MHz.In this way, better measurementtechniques will enable more stringent testsof fundamental science, which will in turn•Sucher, 1958••Drake et al.; Morgan, et al., 1993Eikema et al., 1993Eikema et al., 1996{ Eikema et al., 1997Drake, 19971S - 2S NIST, 199837.038.0GHzEikema et al., 2010Yerokhin and Pachucki , 201039.040.041.0• Drake, 1988•••••50 MHz(laserν chirp)Figure 5. Theoretical and experimental determinations of the helium ground stateLamb shift with uncertainty levels shown.••42.043.0allow better understanding to underpindevelopment of new technologies, that willenable even more precise measurements.The encouragement that the Barry InglisMedal provides to such investigationsreflects the central role played by theNational Measurement Institute in drivingprecision measurement in Australia, and itis with great pleasure that I humbly acceptthis award.AcknowledgementsI would like to acknowledge thecontributions made to this work by mymany colleagues, in particular at theANU, NIST and Macquarie University.ReferencesAOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011[1] Bureau International de Poids etMesures (BIPM – the InternationalBureau of Weights and Measures)http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/chapter2/2-1/second.html[2] K.G.H. Baldwin, Contemp. Phys. 46(2), 105-120 (2005).[3] L.J. Uhlmann, R. Dall, A.G. Truscott,M.D. Hoogerland, K.G.H. Baldwinand S.J. Buckman. Phys. Rev. Lett.94 (17), 173201 (2005).[4] T. Zelevinsky, D. Farkas, and G.Gabrielse, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 203001(2005).[5] G. Giusfredi et al., Can. J. Phys. 83,301-310 (2005).[6] J.S. Borbely et al, Phys. Rev. A 79,060503(R) (2009).[7] G.W.F. Drake, Can. J. Phys. 80,1195-1212 (2002).[8] K. Pachucki, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97,013002 (2006).[9] K. Pachucki and V.A. Yerokhin, Phys.Rev. A 79, 062516 (2009).[10] H. W. Moos and J. R.Woodworth, Phys. Rev. A 12, 2455(1975).[11] R. G. Dall, K. G. H. Baldwin,L. J. Byron and A. G. Truscott, Phys.Rev. Lett. 100, 023001 (2008).[12] S.S. Hodgman, R.G. Dall,L.J. Byron, K. G. H. Baldwin, S.J.Buckman and A.G. Truscott, Phys.Rev. Lett. 103, 053002 (2009).[13] S.S. Hodgman, R.G. Dall, K. G.H. Baldwin, and A.G. Truscott, Phys.Rev. A 80, 044501 (2009).[14] S.D. Bergeson, A. Balakrishnan,K.G.H. Baldwin, T.B. Lucatorto,J.P. Marangos, T.J. McIlrath, T.R.O’Brian, S.L. Rolston, C.J. Sansonetti,Jesse Wen, N. Westbrook, C. H.Cheng and E. E. Eyler, Phys. Rev.Lett. 80 (16), 3475 - 3478 (1998).[15] K. S. E. Eikema, W. Ubachs, W.Vassen, and W. Hogervorst, Phys.Rev. A 55, 1866–1884 (1996).[16] Y. He, M. Kono, R.T. White,M.J. Sellars, K.G.H. Baldwin and B.J.Orr, Appl. Phys. B 99(4), 609 - 612(2010) and references therein.Figure 6. Professor Ken Baldwin (Centre) discussing with Barry Inglis (left) and theHonorable Richard Marles (right), Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the NMI,on the occasion of the award of the Barry Inglis Medal.Professor Ken Baldwin is with theResearch School of Physics andEngineering, Australian NationalUniversity.11

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AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Quantum opticsan Australian perspectiveby Hans-A. BachorQuantum optics is a very active research field in Australia and across theglobe. This article traces some of the history how we got into such a strongposition and shows some of the opportunities ahead.Quantum optics encompasses any systemthat makes use of the quantum natureof light, from the generation of light, inparticular with lasers, to its detection andthe interaction with matter. Nowadays thefocus is very much on sensing applicationsand metrology below the limit imposed byquantum noise and the communicationand processing of quantum information,which is in itself a very new field ofscience. Quantum optics is now enteringthe era of practical applications andcommercialization, with the leadingpractical example being quantum keydistribution [1].In parallel we have developed the abilityto use coherent matter waves in very similarways to coherent light. We now have atomlasers and atom interferometers, we useand build more accurate atomic clocksthat have coherent atomic oscillatorsand we can record the quantum statisticsof atoms in a similar way to photons.Here the breakthrough was the coolingof atoms to ultra-cold temperatures,approaching nano Kelvin, and the BoseEinstein Condensate, as a new state ofmatter. Recently we created and begin tounderstand comparable coherent effectsin Fermions. Furthermore several groupsare also looking at electronic circuits andmechanical systems at the quantum noiselimit. Quantum technology can now bediscussed with confidence [2].Australia is extremely active andsuccessful in all of these topics, it has nowa large number of active research groups,excellent support through several ARCCentres of Excellence (COE) in the firstand second generation, and an outstandinginternational reputation. Around theworld our colleagues are astounded ofour creativity in producing a noticeablefraction of all the publications and thisfield. All of these set the foundationsof future quantum technologies whereAustralia is capable of playing a significantrole. Similarly, Australian studies ofresearch quality and research output showquantum science as one of the highlights[3].A bit of historyThis has not always been the case -the field is young and in our country itexpanded rapidly. In the mid 1980s thefield was still dominated by theory. Themajor questions were: what is impact ofnonlinearities on quantum propertiesof light and can we modify the photonstatistics? There was a competition forthe first generation of nonclassical,or squeezed, continuous light, almostexclusively in the US. Entangled singlephotons had been demonstrated throughthe famous Bell experiments in Francebut the interference of single photonswas still an experiment for the future.The focus at that time was to understandand demonstrate these quantum effects,to develop new techniques and findnew materials that could create therequired nonlinear response, to measurequantum statistics, and confirm theorypredictions.Under the leadership of Dan Wallsand Crispin Gardiner, New Zealandhad become a hub for quantum optics,while conventional laser technologywas very active in Australia at ANU,Macquarie and Auckland and similarlyconventional spectroscopy includingCSIRO, Peter Hannaford, the Universityof Melbourne, Tony Opat, ANU JohnSandemans and Peter Fisk, and OtgaoUniversity with Jack Dodd. The famousQuantum Optics summer schools [4]had become a Mecca for young scientistfrom this region, allowing us to meetleading research from across the globe.Dan Walls created an outstanding schoolfor theoretical quantum optics, whichgenerated several generations of successfulscientist, including Gerard Milburn,Craig savage, Howard Carmichael, PeterDrummond and Margaret Reid, whoform now a major backbone of the currentresearch field.By this stage the team led by HansBachor at ANU focused on experimentalprojects, complementary to the strongtheory activity in NZ. Building on theFigure 1. The Dan Walls summer school 1986. Front row from left includes: DavidPegg, Carlton Caves, Marlin Skully, Carlo Tombesi, Dan Walls, Gerard Milburn(behind Dan), Mark Levenson, John Harvey. The author is: 2nd row from back 4thfrom left.13

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Australian expertise on spectroscopy andimporting techniques from the leadinglabs, at that stage almost excessively basedin the US, experiments about squeezingwere performed initially with Ba atomicbeams, then second harmonic generatorsand optical parametric oscillators, usingnon-linear crystals. By 1996 the work byPing Koy Lam, Tim Ralph, Andrew White,Charles Harb and Eleanor Huntington,Matt Sellars and others had reached theworld standard and we gained internationalrecognition. In parallel the ANU work onusing squeezed light evolved, in particularfor gravitational wave detection with manycontributions by David McClelland,Ben Buchler, Malcolm Gray and DanielShaddock and others. Fig 2 shows a scenefrom these days (1994) at ANU – withone of the table top experiments thatdemonstrated optical sensing below thequantum noise limit.Building the technology in photonand atom opticsThe quest of breaking the quantumnoise limit in any form made opticalsensing, the design of better lasers and betterinstruments the major driver. We helpedin perfecting the techniques and to makethem reliable. The theory teams were partof the emerging ideas of quantum controland quantum information processing.This Australian know how has now beenexported to several leading internationalgroups in Europe, US and Asia. Twotextbooks were written in Australia, oneon the practical aspects of quantum optics[5] and one on the theoretical foundationsof quantum optics [6] and both are widelyused around the world.In parallel, the ANU team generatedthe first ultra cold atoms in a magneticoptical trap , Ian Littler and investigatedthe diffraction of matter waves, KenFigure 3. Rb Atom laser team at ANU 2010, who are developing the technology for practicalatom interferometer with enhanced sensitivity. The machines get more reliable and moreprecise with each generation. Left John Debs, Mattias Johnsson, John Close, Paul Altin,Gordon McDonald, Rachel Poldy, Daniel Döring, NickRobins.Baldwin. The Otago team of AndrewWilson, Robert Ballagh and Wes Sandlewas the first to create a Bose EinsteinCondensate in the Southern Hemisphere,as it was then the catchphrase, soonfollowed by the ANU team led by JohnClose and followed by SUT with AndreiSidorov, and UQ with Halina RubinszteinDunlop.We now had in atomic physics a sourceof coherence and a starting point for morecomplex systems base on coherent matterwaves (see Fig 3). The way was open tobuild devices that are in close analogyto optics, we can propagate and focusmatter waves, build beam splitters andinterferometers, build atom lasers and havefull control of the coherent beam of atoms.The ANU team, with Andrew Truscott,uses single He* atom detection to showthe coherence properties. Refined theories,for from Matt Davis and Joe Hope andtheir teams, had to be developed to takethe complex nonlinear properties of thesequantum systems into account, to includeand exploit the wealth of properties BECexhibit at the condensation point andmore recently to include the propertiesof samples of Fermions at ultracoldtemperatures, Chris Vale and Hui Hu atSUT.In optics the emphasis shifted toexperiments using single photons, whichhad significant technical advantages andwere also encouraged by the developmentof the concepts and ideas of quantumentanglement. Around the world theimportance and capability of q-bits wereanalyzed, the mathematical link betweencomplex calculations and the evolutionof quantum systems were discovered andthis led to the predictions for quantumcomputing. In particular the interest infast factorisation, with all its implicationsfor cryptography, code breaking and othersecurity application, caught the attentionand created the new, rapidly expandingfield of quantum information theory.The big questions became quality of theentanglement, the ability to teleportinformation from one place to another,the quest for scalability to many q-bits andpractical error correction. This is exploitedin many experiments with pairs of photonscreated, for example in the teams ofAndrew White and Tim Ralph at UQ andother laboratories in Australia.Many suggestions were made howthis could be realized experimentally andFigure 2. Quantum optics teamat ANU 1994. From left: Ping KoyLam, Robert Batchko (Stanford),Ben Buchler, Hans Bachor, ElanorHuntington, Daniel Shaddock,Charles Harb and Tim Ralph. Theforeground shows the componentsof an experiment demonstratingphase sensing below the quantumnoise limit.14

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Figure 4. EPR entanglement in the real world – not a quantum paradox but the foundation offuture technology. This apparatus creates optical beams which performs better than the best laserand demonstrates spatial entanglement, the correlation of the position and direction of the laserbeams better than the conventional Heisenberg uncertainty limit. Details are given in [7].what a truly practical system would looklike. Australia became a leading forcein developing one particular approach:Phosphor atoms imbedded in precisepositions in silicon were the medium ofchoice. This was later complemented bya major effort to utilize optics based onentangled photons [8].The era of quantum technologyIn 2002 the opportunity arose toincrease the speed of research and toform more effective collaborations acrossAustralia, to link the many groups that hadformed from the humble beginning in the1980s. Centres of Excellence are the logicalextension from the individually projects.They allow to enhance the strength ofthe individual scientists, much like anorchestra enhances the sound of soloistsand to create bigger and more powerfulsound effects. It is the joint creativity ofthe group of individual scientists thatmake the difference.A formidable trio of Centres ofExcellence in Quantum Science wascreated. ACQAO, directed by HansBachor, combined both coherent opticsand coherent matter waves based onBEC to investigate the concepts andpracticalities of macroscopic entanglementof many particles, photons and atoms,both Bosons or Fermions. It linkedresearch at ANU, UQ and SUT. Fig. 5shows many of the members of the currentCentre. Similarly CQCT, the Centre forQuantum Computing technology, ledfirst by Robert Clark and now MichelleSimmons, combined the techniques forcreating quantum computer systemsin silicon at UNSW and MelbourneUniversity with optics and theory at UQ.And CUDOS, the Centre for Ultrahighbandwidth Devices for Optical System, ledby Ben Eggleton which is focused on theclassical aspects of optical communicationsystems combining the strengths of SydneyUniversity, ANU and SUT.For the last 8 years these three Centreshave been able to create a tremendousamount of progress and output, establishedthe field in the wider community andcreate the international recognition wenow enjoy. At the same time other teamswhere established. More Universitiesinvested into this field, in particularMacquarie University, Monash University,UWA, Sydney University and AdelaideUniversity in Optics. A major force inFigure 5. Members ACQAO and of theadvisory board in 2010 at the ICAP2010conference in Cairns. This event, andparallel conferences before and after,created a major forum for discussionsand planning of future scientific work.the physical science in Australia has beencreated with at least 40 groups, somesupported and operating individually andothers as part of three active ARC COEs[2][8][9].Future opportunitiesWe now have developed thefundamentals of quantum optics. Wehave created a set of beautiful experimentsand a comprehensive theory that allowsus detailed modeling of the results.The progress in quantum optics hasbeen in two directions: quality andreliability, both allowing complexity.These are two requirements for futurepractical applications. In order to makethe quantum effects as strong as possibleand at the same time robust we needmachines that have very high efficienciesand stay tuned for long times. We willhave to combine many quantum systems,or in information language q-bits, to buildmachines that can perform complex tasks,eventually outperforming their classicalcounterparts. Fig.6 illustrates the recenttrends of both photon and atom opticsin these directions.Starting from simple systems, suchas the laser or an ultracold atomicensemble of atoms, we have seen dramaticimprovements in the reliability andcomplexity. We can now build machines,which include multiple entangled statesof light on one hand and have fully15

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AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Figure 6. An illustration of the progress in quantum optics, in time left to right. The deviceswe built improved in quality, and that means they show less noise, and more reliable, andthat means could become more complex.controllable stable matter waves on theother hand. [8] Photon and atom scienceare starting to approach each other andother quantum systems such as quantumcircuits, opto-mechanical and all solid statesystems will be some of the many technicalplatforms for quantum applications.At the moment the devices arestill complex and based in Universitylaboratories across many laboratories inAustralia and around the world. However,within a few years these devices will berobust enough for practical applicationsof quantum information processing.Quantum key distribution, now beingmarketed from several countries includingAustralia [1], is the first working exampleof such quantum technologies. Usingnew protocols, that quite likely have noteven been invented yet, these machinesand processes will become widespreadtechnology.At the same time metrology willcontinue to make further advancesallowing major more improvements insensitivity and accuracy. The ability tomake better measurements has alwaysbeen a key resource. It allows us to developnew instruments, to gather better data, totest improved models and predictions andto find new ways of shaping our world.With the improved accuracy we willdiscover new effects in fields as diverse asgeodesy, resource exploration, materialsscience, medical imaging or astronomy,both earthbound and satellite basedinstruments.The details and how widespreadthese applications will become remains aspeculation at the moment. But we canaddress a range of questions: How usefuland universal will quantum-computersbe? Are there other practical uses ofquantum information? Will we be ableto understand and avoid decoherence?Can we emulate important effects, forexample in superconductors or in biomolecules, using quantum systems? Whatare the ultimate limits in metrology? Havewe overlooked important implications ofquantum science?History shows that new insights, suchas the quantum statistics of light and atoms,will always find amazing and unforeseenapplications. Australia has already maderemarkable contributions - and our verystrong research effort will ensure that wecan remain one of the key players in thisemerging field of technology. We can beproud about the past and confident abouta bright future.References[1] Webpage of the company Quintessencehttp://www.quintessencelabs.com/index.php[2] Australian Physics 47(4) JULY/AUG2010 andfor up to date information:http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/ce/engineered_quantum_systems.htm[3] Latest study of research excellencein Australia carried out be theARC: http://www.arc.gov.au/era/outcomes_2010.htm[4] Proceedings on Quantum Optics,Harvey and Walls, Springer, 1989[5] A guide to experiments in quantumoptics, H-A. Bachor & T.C.Ralph,2nd ed., Wiley 2003[6] Quantum Optics , D. Walls &G.Milburn, 2nd ed. Springer 2008[7] K.Wagner, J.Janousek, V.Delaubert,J.FMorizur, C.C.Harb, N.Treps,P.K.Lam, H-A Bachor Entangling thespatial properties of laser beams Science321, 541 (2008) and latest results atB.Hage et al. arXiv 1103.4199v2[8] For up to date information see:webpage CQC2T http://www.cqc2t.org/home[9] For up to date information see:webpage ACQAO http://www.acqao.orgHans-A. Bachor is with the AustralianNational University, Canberra.17

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 201118

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Lidar Work inAdelaidethe early yearsby Murray HamiltonLidar for studying the atmosphere is a significantpart of the activity in optics at The University ofAdelaide. It isn’t widely appreciated, even withinthe current lidar group, that this activity has quite a longhistory. This article aims to summarise the early historyof lidar at Adelaide, up until around 1995.Figure 1. Frontispiece of Bartusek’s Thesis. Karel Bartusek (left)and David Gambling (right) in front of the lidar van.In mid-1963 Dr Graham Elford (then alecturer in the Atmospheric Physics groupat Adelaide) made a proposal to make alidar in Adelaide, hopefully to see Rayleighscattering from a height of 100 km. WRE(the precursor to DSTO) was sufficientlyinterested in the potential of lidar systems,that a grant from them was negotiated toemploy a design engineer (Colin Vaskess)and to supply funds for equipment andmaintenance. A post-Honours student,Karel Bartusek elected at the end of 1963to undertake the work for his PhD.The following year Elford was on studyleave at the Smithsonian AstrophysicalObservatory, Boston, USA, and attachedthere to the Radio Meteor Group wherehe met G. Fiocco from MIT. Fiocco andSmullin had just published a paper onlidar studies of dust in the atmosphere, andclaimed to have observed meteoric dustat 120 km. (We now know that there arelayers of sodium, potassium and iron, all ofmeteoric origin, at around this height, andthe sodium layer is the basis of artificialguide stars for adaptive optic astronomy.)Figure 2. Profiles of backscatter coefficient in the stratosphere (from SA Young’sthesis).Elford was skeptical of the claim, but wasintrigued and hoped to further this workwith the lidar then under constructionin Adelaide. He also visited a laser firm,RCA, in Boston which subsequently wascontracted to build an optical transmitterfor the Adelaide lidar. This was basedaround a ruby laser emitting 1 J pulses.David Gambling joined the groupin 1965, for a PhD that also involvedusing the lidar for optical studies of thetroposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere.Preliminary lab testing took most of 1965.WRE loaned an equipment caravan,inside of which the whole lidar system waseventually installed, although the lidar wasinitially operated at the Mt Torrens fieldstation in the Adelaide Hills.The design parameters for the lidartransmitter were never achieved and thislimited the system to optical studies thestratosphere, rather than the mesosphereas well. Nevertheless this was the firstlidar used to probe the atmosphere in theSouthern Hemisphere.In April 1969 the first profiles ofoptical scattering to a height of 60 km wereobtained, and in late 1969 Bartusek andGambling compared twilight observationsof aerosols with lidar observations. The19

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011following March, Dr Martin Platt ofCSIRO Division of MeteorologicalPhysics brought a radiometer to Adelaideto measure radiance of clouds, as afunction of height as determined bylidar observations. In mid 1970 Bartusekand Gambling submitted their PhDtheses, and Gambling returned to WRE.Meanwhile Bartusek continued operationof lidar until late 1970, to complementPlatt’s radiometric studies of cirrus cloudsover Adelaide. In 1971 David McGrathused the lidar for his BSc Honours project, in which he made studies of troposphericaerosols.Stuart Young enrolled in February1973 in a PhD program entitled “Lidarstudies of atmospheric aerosols”. Overthe next year he rebuilt the lidar andthen proceeded to make measurements ofstratospheric aerosol profiles over severalyears, which culminated in a 1979 paperin Nature. Following this the lidar projectwas closed down in 1980. Leon Thomaswas a gifted technician who had workedfor many years on the lidar project.When the lidar work ceased he becameresponsible for technical support of thePhysics teaching labs.In the early 1980’s Dr Fred Jacka,the director of the Mawson Institute forAntarctic Research, proposed a lidar systemthat would be capable of measuring windsin the upper atmosphere. This followedFigure 3. The 1 m primary receiver mirrorunder construction at the University ofAdelaide. It has a substrate of aluminiumalloy. In the background is the polishingmachine.on from techniquesdeveloped to measurewinds and temperaturesusing airglow as a source.Due to the limitedresources and fundingdevelopment was slow.Polishing the one meterprimary mirror of thereceiver in house was a major taskundertaken by Stephen Argall, who wasthe PhD student working on the project.This was to form a steerable telescopewhich would be used for transmit andreceive, and enable line of sight windmeasurements 360° azimuth, within 60°of zenith.A shutter mirror system was used toswitch the telescope between the lasertransmitter and the receiver system toprevent the backscatter from opticalcomponents, and tropospheric aerosols,saturating the receiver. There was alsoprovision for a dual etalon Fabry-Perotspectrometer to be inserted in the receivepath to measure the Doppler shift in thereceived signal and hence the line of sightwind. (This type of lidar is known nowas high spectral resolution lidar, and istypically used to measure temperatureby isolating the Mie scattering from theRayleigh, on account of the differentDoppler broadening of aerosols andmolecules). The laser was a copper vapourtype, with 2 kHz pulse rate and averagepower 4 W. The initial design of themirror shutter was unsatisfactory and itwas replaced by a system of three shuttersrotating at 24,000 rpm. These were drivenby digital control circuitry that held theirrelative position to within ± 0.1mm.The system was used for Rayleighscattering measurements at BucklandPark (about 40 km north of Adelaide)while the Fabry-Perot spectrometer wasstill under construction. Measurementsof backscatter up to 60 km height weremade by Stephen Argall between March1992 and May 1993, and publishedin 1996. From the Rayleigh scatteredFigure 4. The lidar telescope at Buckland Park protrudingabove the lidar building.signal, temperature profiles of the middlestratosphere were also extracted.The equipment was then transferredto Australian Antarctic Division whodid further development (includingreplacement of the Cu vapour laser with afrequency doubled Nd laser), and installedit at Davis base in 2000. The Davis lidarhas now been operating more or lesscontinuously since then.The author is grateful for the input ofGraham Elford and Don Creighton whoprovided most of the material, and toStuart Young for reviewing the manuscriptand making corrections.ReferencesArgall P.S. & Jacka F. Appl. Optics 35,2619, (1996) “High-pulse-repetitionfrequencylidar system using a singletelescope for transmission and reception”Bartusek, K., Gambling, D. J. andElford, W. G. Journal of Atmosphericand Terrestrial Physics 32, 1535, (1970)“Stratospheric aerosol measurements byoptical radar”Klekociuk, A.R. (1995) An Australianatmospheric Lidar for Antarctica.Australian Optical Society News 9(3).6-10Platt, C. M. R. J. Atmos Scienc. 30,1191, (1973) “Lidar and RadiometricObservations of Cirrus Clouds”Young, S.A. and Elford, W.G. Nature,278, 541, (1979) “Stratospheric aerosoloptical thickness measurements at 35 o S”Murray Hamilton is with the Schoolof Chemistry and Physics at theUniversity of Adelaide.20

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Optics in the Science andEngineering ChallengeAOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011by John Holdsworth, JohnO’Connor and Terry BurnsThe Science and Engineering Challenge had its beginnings in the desireto change school students’ perceptions of science and engineering byovercoming misconceptions about the way scientists and engineers actuallywork. Through The Challenge (as it is known), students see the practical side of thesedisciplines which they would not usually experience in their school environment.The Challenge aims to inspire Year 10 students to consider a future career in scienceand engineering and to choose to study maths, physics and chemistry in year 11and 12. This was, and still is, seen as critical in the preparation of future physicalscientists and engineers.Initially the brainchild of Bob Nelson andJohn O’Connor, University of Newcastle,to promote student recruitment into thefaculties of Science and Engineering,The Challenge operated for a few yearsonly within the University of Newcastle’scatchment area (Coffs Harbour-Gosford-Gunnedah-Dubbo). In 2004 TheChallenge went nationwide with thesupport of the Department of Innovation,Industry, Science and Research (DIISR),and other supporters including RotaryAustralia, the Department of Education,Science and Technology (later Departmentof Industry, Innovation and ScienceResearch), Engineers Australia, TheElectric Energy Society of Australia,Energy Australia, and the Farrell FamilyFoundation. The Challenge now operatesthroughout the country in cooperationwith over 30 Universities, sponsors and, ofcourse the fantastic support of local Rotaryclub volunteers.In 2003 it was decided to introduce anoptical activity to the Challenge.All potential Challenge activities haveto meet several demanding criteria: theproposed activity has to be challenging andhas to convey the excitement of somethingnew and different; it also has to survivetransport in the back of crowded vansto far-flung localities; it must be easy toset up and operate; it must have multipleFigure 1. The Confounding Communications equipment comprising two ‘light boxes’, fibreoptic cables and fittings. (Not shown: A small portable screen to separate the team into twogroups.)25

party equipment and instrumentation.AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 201100Attenuation (dB)-5-10-15Attenuation (dB)-5-10-15-20per M Seriesplications-20-0.05 -0.04 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05Frequency Offset (THz)-25-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2Frequency Offset (THz)The Example WaveShaper filter shapes generated family with of WaveShaper Programmable 1000/4000S Optical Programmable Processors Optical Processor providesa range of programmable optical filtering and switching options foroptical R&D and production test applications. Based on Finisar’s highresolution,members solid-state of the WaveShaper Liquid Crystal family can on be Silicon controlled (LCoS) through optical the engine, theAllWaveManager WaveShaper Application family provides Suite extremely which provides fine control an intuitive of filter user characteristics,interfaceforincludingreal-timecentrecontrolwavelength,of up to fourbandwidth,separate WaveShapers.shape and, forControlWaveShapersoftware1000is also provided for both Windows and Unix (Linux) which allows fulland 4000, dispersion and attenuation. The WaveShaper range includescontrol of all aspects of the WaveShaper functionality. A common APIa Channel Selector (WaveShaper 100S), Programmable Optical Filteracross all operating systems makes it easy to integrate the WaveShaperfunctionality(WaveShaperinto1000S)the usersandsystem.MultiportLabVIEWOpticaldriversProcessorare provided(WaveShaperas wellas 4000S). bindings OEM for common versions programming of the WaveShaper and scripting platform languages are such also as available C,Visual for embedded Basic, Python, applications. etc . Driverstomation(true)(false)ce in[THz][THz][dB]Porterror)z] (0)B] (0)d] (0)hTypeDemonstrated applications of the WaveShaper ProgrammableOptical Processor include: Optical Filter Simulation Optical Component Testing Transceiver TestingWaveShaper 4000S RedoAvailable Multiport Optical Processor extends the capability ofUndoAvailablethe WaveShaper 1000S including the ability EDFAto directTestingdifferent portions of theWSHAPERreference outspectrum to different CurrentParametersoutput ports with different, DWDM arbitrary System user-generatedSimulationMAINWaveShaperUpdatedchannel shapes for each portion of the spectrum. DWDM The System Flexgrid Testing option in theerror outWaveManager software simplifies the emulation Fourier of Domain flexible bandwidth Waveform WSS Manipulation foradvanced network development. Optical/Microwave FilteringWaveShaper M Series are the OEM versions Laser of the Pulse 1000S/4000S CompressionProgrammable Optical Processors and are designed Dissipative for Mode embedding Locking into of third Fibre Lasersparty equipment and instrumentation.00Attenuation (dB)-5-10-15Attenuation (dB)-5-10-15-20For more information, seewww.finisar.com/waveshaper orcontact us now for a free trial onwaveshaper@finisar.com.-20-0.05 -0.04 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05Frequency Offset (THz)-25-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2Frequency Offset (THz)Example filter shapes generated with WaveShaper 1000/4000S Programmable Optical ProcessorAll members of the WaveShaper family can be controlled through theWaveManager Application Suite which provides an intuitive user interfacefor real-time control of up to four separate WaveShapers. Control softwareis also provided for both Windows and Unix (Linux) which allows fullcontrol of all aspects of the WaveShaper functionality. A common API26 across all operating systems makes it easy to integrate the WaveShaperfunctionality into the users system. LabVIEW drivers are provided as well

h the grid to be conveyed.phistication of the cryptography required is evident in the outcomes of the students. Mostall three colours independently and then in combination as well as varying the time andping an error checking protocol to ensure that data sent is received correctly.AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011correct solutions; it must work reliably ina diverse range of venues; the equipmentEngineering Challenge:•must be fairly inexpensive and portable;and – most importantly – it has to surviveyear 10 students of all motivationallevels. Optical activities have to be eyesafe, and are additionally constrained•by the fact that most Challenge venuesEngineering.can’t be darkened, don’t have curtained•or shrouded spaces, and can’t involveinterference or diffraction (as the moststable table at many Challenge venues may•The Confounding have had Communications the CWA scone display equipment or a prize comprising Figure two 2. ‘light A sample boxes’, of fibre the data optic to cables be and fittings.(Not shown: fleece A small on it portable the week screen before). to separate the team conveyed into two groups.)A sample of the It was data to decided be conveyed that an optical data sent is received correctly.•cryptography activity incorporating both The activity runs for 2 hours. Initiallytivity runs for 2 hours. Initially the members of each school team work together to devisetime and wavelength division multiplexing the members of each school team workto send three though different optical fibres types met of these messages. criteria. After together about to devise half an codes hour to each send team three is divided intoalf the students The activity sit was at one introduced end of under the the desk title and different the remaining types of messages. students After sit at about the other end ofsk. A small “Confounding curtain screen Communications”.separates the two half groups an hour and each ensures team is divided that there into two; is no cheating.Kira Mileham, at that time an half the students sit at one end of the desktivity is timed. undergraduate All teams Science start Communicationtogether. The and students the remaining at one students end of sit the at the desk other must use thethey devised student, earlier developed to encode the activity and transmit while end the of first the secret desk. A message. small curtain Their screen other teamthe technical difficulties were sorted out separates the two groups and ensures thaters, on the other side of the screen, must receive and decode the message as quickly andby a team lead by Bob Nelson and John there is no cheating.tely as possible. Holdsworth. It was Using originally a three -colour envisaged RGB that, The after activity teams is timed. had devised All teams a start coding system, ittake several light minutes emitting for diode the and transmission clear jacketed part together. of the The activity. students In at fact, one end it is of relatively the commonms to send plastic fairly optical long and fibre complex with a 1mm messages core desk in 30 must seconds use the or system less! they devised(see photograph below), the participants earlier to encode and transmit the firstllenge activities develop their require own unique a creative, code to experimental, transmit secret message. hands-on Their approach. other team members, To successful, students information need to based apply on their combinations individual of the skills on and the knowledge, other side of and the screen, work together must as a team.three colours and time duration of the receive and decode the message as quicklych conducted pulses. on Two the cables effectiveness were used so of that the the Challenge and accurately revealed as possible. that It participation was originally in the Sciencegineering communication Challenge: could be bi-directional.The activity requires them to conveyenvisaged that, after teams had deviseda coding system, it would take severalIncreases information the students’ about two awareness grids, the of first careers of minutes science for the and transmission engineering. part of As the well, itwhich is a 4 x4 array of different coloured activity. In fact, it is relatively commondemonstrates to them that there is an opportunity for them to participate in these careers.squares and circles, shown below, while for teams to send fairly long and complexIncreases the their second interest is a 10 x in 10 Science grid with and “enemy Engineering. messages in 30 seconds or less!Influences units” their and a decision safe pathway to undertake through the grid science All and Challenge maths in activities senior high require school. aDramatically to be conveyed. improves their teamwork ability. creative, (This experimental, is a key outcome.) hands-on approach.The sophistication of the cryptographyrequired is evident in the outcomes of thestudents. Most will use all three coloursindependently and then in combinationas well as varying the time and developingan error checking protocol to ensure thatTo be successful though, students needto apply their individual skills andknowledge, and work together as a team.Research conducted on theeffectiveness of the Challenge revealedthat participation in the Science andevents/challenge/Newcastle.Increases the students’ awareness ofcareers in science and engineering.As well, it demonstrates to them thatthere is an opportunity for them toparticipate in these careers.Increases their interest in Science andInfluences their decision to undertakescience and maths in senior highschool.Dramatically improves theirteamwork ability. (This is a keyoutcome.)Increases their self-confidence.Since 2000, over one hundred thousandschool students have participated in theScience and Engineering Challenge, andover eight thousand of them have competedin Confounding Communications. Theactivity notes have just been revised andthe activity remains extremely popular.It is of some small satisfaction that thefirst time many of the past students saw,touched and experienced an optical fibre isin the Science and Engineering Challenge.As the National Broadband Networkrolls out across the nation, the concept oftransmitting a secure, wavelength divisionmultiplexed, time division multiplexedoptical communication signal has alreadybeen embedded in the minds of thousandsof year ten students due to the Scienceand Engineering challenge. If only theirteachers realised it.For more information, visit http://www.newcastle.edu.au/faculty/engineering/The authors are with the University of27

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Chiral MetamaterialsUnlocking Nonlinear Optical ActivityWe demonstrate a chiral metamaterial exhibiting nonlinear optical activity –polarisation rotation which depends on the magnitude of the incidentfield. This effect is almost negligible in natural materials, but can bemade very strong using artificially structured metamaterials. We utilise this effectto create an optical diode for circularly polarised waves – a device which allowstransmission only in one direction.Chirality has important implications inmany areas of physics and chemistry,including optics. A chiral structure isone which has distinct left and righthandedforms which are the mirrorimages of each other. It is known thatthe interaction of circularly polarisedlight with chiral molecules depend onthe relative handedness between thetwo. This is the basis of the well-knownoptical activity in sugar solutions, wherebya linearly polarised input wave has itspolarisation rotated at the output. Themicroscopic origin of this effect is theexcitation of a magnetic response by theelectric component of the light and viceversa. Although the effect exists in naturalmedia, it can be orders of magnitudestronger in artificially structured media- metamaterials. In place of molecules,one can engineer tiny, sub-wavelengthelements such as resonant spirals thatact as magneto-electric dipoles. Figure 1shows an example of a chiral metamaterial,showing a linearly polarised incidentplane wave, which undergoes polarisationrotation by angle θ.The polarisation rotation in microwavechiral metamaterials can be nearly amillion times stronger than in naturalquartz for optical frequencies, oncethe sample thickness is normalised tothe wavelength of radiation [1]. Forsuch chiral metamaterials, the effect ofoptical activity can be so strong thatthe refractive index becomes negativefor one circular polarisation. There aremany other examples in the literatureof how metamaterials can be engineeredto achieve linear material parameters farbeyond those of natural media. An evenmore exciting feature of metamaterialsis that they can achieve exotic nonlinearparameters. Previous results have shownthat a nonlinear inclusion in an opticalor microwave metamaterial can resultin a nonlinear response much strongerthan that in the corresponding bulknonlinear media [2]. This occurs due tothe resonant enhancement of fields, andthe local hot spots which develop withinthe structure.by David A. Powell, Ilya V. Shadrivov, Vassili A.Fedotov, Nikolay I. Zheludev and Yuri S. KivsharNonlinear Chiral MetamaterialOur aim is to combine the strongchirality and nonlinearity of metamaterialsto develop a structure with nonlinearoptical activity - polarisation rotationwhich depends on the strength of theincident field. This effect has previouslybeen proposed [3], and subsequentlyobserved in LiIO3 crystals [4], however insuch materials the nonlinear optical activitywas smaller than its linear counterpart bya factor of 10-6. This required samplesseveral centimetres in length and lightintensities of 100 MW/cm2, which isclose to the optical breakdown of thecrystal. Such a small level of nonlinearityis not sufficient for demonstrating anypractically important functionality.Using metamaterials, we can overcomethese difficulties, by engineering thechiral response and carefully placing thenonlinear elements within the structure.The metamaterial is designed to operateat microwave frequencies, and consistsof a pair of metallic wires, twisted so thatthey are no longer parallel, as shown inFigure 2. We can see that the structure ischiral, because if we take its mirror image,we end up with a non-identical object.Nonlinearity is introduced by cuttingeach wire and inserting a varactor diode.The structure is placed inside a circularwaveguide, and excited with a high powermicrowave source in the 5-7GHz range.Figure 1. Example chiral metamaterial showing polarisationrotation.Figure 2. Schematic of the nonlinear chiral metamaterial.28

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Figure 3. Polarisation rotation as a function ofinput frequency and power.Further details of the design and theexperimental techniques can be foundin [2].We note that the angle of twist isan important parameter, which notonly determines the magnitude of thegyrotropy [1], but also changes theresonant frequency of the metamoleculedue to strong near-field interactions [5].In general chiral and anisotropic structureshave elliptically polarised eigenmodes,leading to a complex dependence of thepolarisation state of the transmitted waveon the incident polarisation state. Weobserved no change of our results whenthe metamolecule was rotated along itsaxis in the cylindrical waveguide. Thisindicates that anisotropic, birefringenceeffects are negligible and the polarisationchange is dominated by the circulardichroism and circular birefringence ofthe sample. This allows us to describe thetransmission in terms of the transmissionof the left- and right-handed circularlypolarised waves, T-- and T++.Figure 3 show polarisation rotationof a linearly polarised wave for differentincident intensities. The resonant featurecomes from the resonant excitation ofFigure 4. Difference between forward andbackward transmission for the optical diode.currents in the left-handed metamoleculeby the left-handed circularly polarisedwave. Our numerical simulations confirmthat the excited resonance corresponds toout-of-phase currents in the wires. At thesame time, the right-handed circularlypolarised wave does not noticeably exciteany resonances in our structure. Changingthe power of the incident wave shifts theresonance of the gyrotropic response to ahigher frequency. Importantly, such a shiftof the polarisation rotation resonance leadsto giant nonlinear gyrotropy. This can becalculated as achieving a peak value of 15deg°/W, which is 12 orders of magnitudestronger than results previously observedfor LiIO3, at optical wavelengths [4].Optical Diode for CircularlyPolarised WavesIf we modify the structure suchthat only one wire contains a nonlinearinclusion, then it will have a lowersymmetry, and we can use this featurein order to allow the propagation ofleft-handed circularly polarised wavesin one direction only. This relies on thenon-reciprocity of nonlinear components,which becomes significant at higher inputpowers. The results of our measurementsfor the left-handed circularly polarisedwave scattering on a left-handed chiralmetamolecule are shown in Figure 4.When the amplitude of the incidentwave is small, the structure shows alinear response, and the transmissioncoefficients in both directions are equal.However, in the nonlinear regime, withhigh intensity of the impinging wave weobserve considerably different transmissionproperties in opposite directions with themaximal intensity contrast between thetwo directions of 18 dB. Our numericalmodelling shows that such behaviourresults from significantly different currentamplitudes induced in the two wire stripsby the waves entering the metamoleculefrom one direction, in comparisons witha much smaller excitation differenceproduced by a wave entering from theopposite direction. The ‘polarity’ of themetamaterial diode depends on theoperating frequency: In the range 5.9 - 6.0GHz the transmission for the left-handedcircularly polarised wave is greater in theforward direction, i.e. when the wave hitsthe strip with the nonlinear element first.However, in the range from 6.0 GHz to6.3 GHz the ‘polarity’ reverses and thediode transmits the same polarisation inthe opposite direction only.ConclusionWe have demonstrated a metamaterialshowing significant nonlinear opticalactivity, an effect which is extremely weakin natural materials. We then modified thisstructure to create an asymmetric version,which acts as an optical diode for circularlypolarised waves, allowing transmission ofthe left-handed circular polarisation onlyin one direction.AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by theAustralian Research Council, by theAustralian Academy of Science TravelGrant, and by the Engineering andPhysical Sciences Research Council UKand The Royal Society (London).References[1] A.V. Rogacheva, V.A. Fedotov, A.S.Schwanecke, and N.I. Zheludev, “GiantGyrotropy due to Electromagnetic-Field Coupling in a Bilayered ChiralStructure,” Physical Review Letters,vol. 97, Oct. 2006, pp. 1-4.[2] I.V. Shadrivov, V.A. Fedotov, D.A.Powell, Y.S. Kivshar, and N.I.Zheludev, “Electromagnetic waveanalogue of an electronic diode,” NewJournal of Physics, vol. 13, Mar. 2011,p. 033025.[3] S.A. Akhmanov and V.I. Zharikov,“Nonlinear optics of gyrotropicmedia,” JETP Lett., vol. 6, 1967, pp.137-140.[4] S.A. Akhmanov, B.V. Zdanov, N.I.Zheludev, N.I. Kovrigin, and V.I.Kuznetsov, “Nonlinear optical activityin crystals,” JETP Lett., vol. 29, 1979,pp. 264-268.[5] M. Lapine, D.A. Powell, M.V.Gorkunov, I.V. Shadrivov, R. Marqués,and Y.S. Kivshar, “Structural tunabilityin metamaterials,” Applied PhysicsLetters, vol. 95, 2009, p. 084105.David A. Powell, Ilya V. Shadrivov and YuriS. Kivshar are with the Nonlinear PhysicsCentre and CUDOS@ANU, ResearchSchool of Physics and Engineering, ANU,Canberra. Vassili A. Fedotov and NikolayI. Zheludev are with the OptoelectronicsResearch Centre and Centre for PhotonicMetamaterials, University of Southampton,United Kingdom.29

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Jung Precision Optics, AdelaideJung by name and Jung at heartIn 1940 Heinz Jung was 6 years old, and like many German children from theRhine regions, he was evacuated to safer climes to avoid the bombing raids.He grew up in Dusseldorf where his parents worked, although the family wasoriginally from Waldgirmes a village 200km away in Hessen. The area sufferedbadly during that time. About half his playmates died in the bombing raids. Heinzwas sent to a region adjacent to East Prussia near the Baltic Sea, as there was nowar there as yet. This early experience lead to Heinz’s two great loves, other thanmaking precision optics.He was billeted with a forester who lived3 km from the nearest school. Heinz hadto walk to and from school by himselfevery day, at first a daunting task for a 6year old boy. Fortunately the forester had abig Short Haired Pointer named Tell afterWilhelm Tell and a Dachshund namedChurchill, because of it’s stocky build.Chruchill was destined to stay at home orhunt foxes, while Tell heartily took on theresponsibility of being Heinz’s bodyguardand companion. Tell walked to schoolevery day with Heinz and kept a watch onhim. If in the school yard some older boysshowed any aggressive tendencies, the dogwould growl just once, and all of a suddenpeace would reign.On Heinz’s 7 th Birthday, as a specialtreat, the forester taught Heinz how to firea gun and how to hunt in the forest. Thatwas something very special many a boy ofthe time could only dream of. Thus beganHeinz’s passion for hunting which he haskept up all his life. And he still goes outoccasionally. Not bad for a 77 year old.And of course he takes his dogs, a big,brown Doberman and a classic femaleRottweiler.The serenity of the East was soonshattered and Heinz went back to hisvillage of Waldgirmes in Hessen where hecompleted his schooling. Waldgirmes hasa known history of 1200 years, all the wayback to Charlemagne’s time, though ofcourse Heinz would say Karl der Grosser’stime. The Jung family name was adoptedby Heinz’s ancestors in about 1460 whenfamily names became in vogue. Impressivecontinuity of family and community.After completing basic schooling at theage of 14 in 1948, Heinz did the Germanthing and chose an apprenticeship.Waldgirmes is also very close to Wetzlar,the city where Leitz (now Leicca ) hadbeen making some of the finest optics inthe world for decades. But Heinz did notgo to Leitz, there was a new company intown, Minox. It was founded by a fineoptics specialist whose surname was Zappand his partner, who provided the finance.They were both refugees from Riga, Latvia,where they had had a similar business.Some readers will remember the Minoxspy camera, as it was called. It was littlebigger than a memory stick, a remarkabledevice, and about 25 years ago cost about$400-. This camera required micro lensobjectives of very high quality. Heinzsigned up as an apprentice at Minoxstudying under Zapp, and attendedtechnical college one day a week. He stayedthere for 5 years until he had learnt all thetechniques.Making optics then was a very exactingscience then. As Heinz explained, “Ttherewere no computers or ray tracing programs.Everything had to be calculated by hand.It could take a year to design an objective.Then it would be made and tested,then the design corrected, and perhaps3 months later a final product wouldemerge. The problem was that there wasno practical way to calculate tolerances.Each variation would be a new design thatcould take a year to calculate. That meantthat the fabricators had to make preciselythe actual forms and thicknesses of thelenses. We had to have lens thicknessesaccurate to 5 microns! Nowadays youjust run a few tolerance simulations on acomputer to find out which dimensionsare critical, but then, everything had tobe made perfectly to the design to be ableto test the design.”After Minox, Heinz got a job as theleading hand in charge of precision opticsfabrication at E. Farber GmbH, where heworked for 6 years. Following this he gotby Alex Stancoa job as manager at Paillard-Bolex SA inSwitzerland. This was the Rheinlander’sundoing, though he stayed there 3 years.Apparently there is a strange pressurephenomenon in Swiss valleys. Due tothe height of the valleys and the generalterrain, the air pressure changes veryrapidly and some people are sensitive tothis. Heinz could not “feel” the pressurechanges but he would get bad headachesand life became intolerable.He and his wife decided that the timewas right for a change, a big change. Hehad offers from Rochester, but whenhe saw it was Rochester, New York, heassumed that it must be near New York.Where would he be able to go hunting,run his dogs? No New York was out.(Of course he found out years later thatRochester is delightful place, as far awayfrom New York city as can be found inNew York State, but by then the decisionshad been made.)Heinz had an excellent offer from acompany in South Africa. They contractedto Big Game hinting tours and neededsomeone to take charge of maintainingtheir gun sights, cameras and the like.Heinz was thrilled, but his wife not.Another geographical error. She had heardabout the Mau Mau uprising in Kenyaand had this fear that Kenya must be nearSouth Africa. So that was out.Australia was recruiting migrantsat the time so the Jungs decided toHeinz with three sons hunting near SwReach in SA. Danny in shorts, Brianthe right, now Major Jung in the AustralArmy, and Michael on the left, who worksAdelaide uni.30

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011anonianatcome to Australia. They arrived in 1962and soon Heinz found a position asforeman at Francis Lords in Sydney,where he had a team of 4-5 people. Thebusiness manufactured precision optics,prototypes, custom jobs and small scaleoptics production.In 1968 Heinz was recruited by SolaPty Ltd in Adelaide and the family movedto Adelaide. Heinz was a master of makinglenses to the highest tolerances. At Sola hemet the legendary John Cole, who wasalso working there. John Cole, who hadcome from England, was in those daysone of the few precision optics specialiststhat could polish flats to 1/100 th of awave for interferometric applications. AsHeinz said, Ï can polish a lens surface to1/100 th of a wave accurancy, but not a flat,that was John’s specialty. I can of coursepolish flats, but not like John.” Theybecame firm friends and created a firstclass capability for Sola. Unfortunatelythere were dissagreements with themanagement and both Heinz and Johnwould move on.One day, when Heinz had had enough,he asked John if he knew of any otheropening for precision optics specialists.John suggested that he call DSTOin Adelaide, which Heinz did. Yes,they were very interested, but... Heinzwas still a German citizen and had nosecurity clearance to work on defencerelated projects. He had first to becomean Australian citizen and then to obtainsecurity clearance. For Heinz these seemsdaunting tasks. As a tribute to the projectleaders at DSTO at the time, Heinz wasa made an Australian citizen and receivedsecurity clearance within a fortnight. Anironical moment was Heinz’s citizenshipceremony. He had to go to the Departmentof Foreign Affairs in Adelaide and be“signed up” as a citizen. The surname ofthe top guy in Adelaide that conductedthe process and took Heinz’s oath wasSchneider. Heinz felt that perhaps he hadnot moved that far after all. Heinz stayedat DSTO for four years.In the late 1970s Heinz wanted achange of climate and decided to moveto the country and lived on a farm for 10years. Here he could fully indulge his loveof the outdoor life, hunt and keep big dogsat will. But after 10 years of this, the lureof precision optics caught him again andhe moved back to Adelaide. But this time,1986, he set up his own company, JungPrecision Optics and started acquiringprecision optic manufacturing machineryand test equipment, and building acustomer base.At this stage his oldest son, DannyJung, had finished his training as atoolmaker at Mitsubushi Motors, andwas getting interested in precision optics.He began training with Heinz and JohnCole and soon became very proficient.In addition Danny learnt Zemax andhow to design optics. Danny has been amember of the Astronomical Society inAdelaide for years and loves making bigmirrors as well as smaller precision opticalelements.Then in the mid 1990s DSTO decidedto close down their optical workshops andsell all the machines, tooling and stocks ofoptical materials. Heinz bought all these.Heinz now has one of the most extensivestocks of glass materials in existence. Manyof the glasses are from the fifties and sixtiesand are no longer made, but are there forany exotic designs. Of course he has stockof BK7 and the latest laser materials, but itis awesome to see the old glass types layingpatiently on the shelves waiting for theirtime to come.Jung Precision Optics,comprisesHeinz, Danny and another colleague,can manufacture a wide array of precisionoptics for prototyping, R&D and smallscale production runs. When clientsneed larger production runs, for whichfabrication in Australia is not economical,Heinz subcontracts to some colleaguesin Germany who are very competitivebecause of the scale/sophistication of theirmanufacturing equipment. Hienz andDanny’s contribution here is to help withadvise on design, form and tollerancing tomake production and mounting easier.Over the years Jung Precision Opticshas undertaken countless projects asdiverse as making custom laser slabs/rods, IR wedges, waveplates, fibre opticsand of course the whole gamut of typicalprecision optics. They have measurementcapability to lambda/20 for optics upto 100mm diameter and dimensionalmeasurements as fine as 1 micron.The market for precision optics inAustralia is limited, but has been rewardingfor Heinz and his family. The customerbase is largely Defence oriented contractsand university research, though there havebeen good associations with local systemmanufacturers such as Ellex.In the 1990 Jung Precision Opticsenjoyed a fluctuating turnover in the orderof $0.5M per annum, then it spiked upin the early 2000s, and then collapsedduring the GFC. This year it is picking upagain. So Heinz keeps himself as busy ashe wants to be, and Danny takes care ofmost things, though Heinz it still clear ofeye and looks decades younger (Junger?)than he is.I asked, “did you have any regretsafter coming to Australia?” Oh yes! Heremembered. “When I first arrived inSydney and tried the beer, Resches, I didnot like it. But then someone suggested Itry whisky with water, which I had neverhad before, and quite liked it. And ofcourse, after we moved to Adelaide, thewater was so bad that I had to drink itstraight.”By that stage it was 3pm and we hadfinished our 200grams each of Heinze’sfavourite whisky. It was time to end so offI went to type it all out while a memoryof our meeting still remained amongst thenicely sizzling synapses. Heinz is always agenerous host.Jung Precision Optics are locatedin Salisbury Heights, a few kilometresfrom DSTO, north of Adelaide. Tel:(08)82830650. Jungprecisionoptics@hotmail.com.auNeed some custom optics, refurbishing,advice? Call them. This expertise still existsin Adelaide.Alex Stanco is Managing Director atLastek Pty Ltd, Adelaide.31

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011FTIR–7600FT-IR Spectrometer● Easy to Operate● Powerful Software● Easy Sample Preparation● Simple Maintenance● USB Interfacing● Cost EffectiveFTIR-7600 is a single-beam FT-IR spectrometer. This instrument is operatedby a PC with user friendly software and a comprehensive manual. Fastscan speeds, high accuracy and ease with operation are standard features.It is an indispensable analysis tool for various application fields such aschemistry, biology, pharmaceutical, materials, mineral, food and beverage,wine industry and quality control.High stable optical system●The design integrates main components to an optical bench machinedfrom a cast aluminium . Highly stable and no need for adjustment, removingtroubles of maintenance of optical path●●●●Precision machinery ensures high repeatability of every scanning. Advanceddesign concept is adopted in both optical path and every partThe system’s corner cube optics provides easy operation without requiringcomplicated electronics and additional moving parts. In addition,many components of the spectrometer are user replaceable whichsaves time over the lifetime of the instrument.Internal dynamic collimation system and movable mirror driving systemkeep the interferometer at optimum situation. Voice-coil driver and precisionslide improves the ability of working in severe conditions.The spectrometer includes a container of desiccant that protects the beamsplitterand other optical components from moisture damage.32

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011SpecificationsWavenumber Range 7800~375 cm -1Resolution 1 cm -1Signal Noise Ratio 30000:1 (resolution@4cm -1 , sample and background scan for 1 min@2100cm -1 )DetectorHigh performance DLATGSBeamsplitterCoated KBrLight SourceLong life, steady state infrared emitterElectronic System 24bit A/D converter at 500KHz, USB 2.0Power100-240VAC, 50/60HzDimensions450mm x 350mm x 210mmWeight14 kgOptional AccessoriesStandard sample compartment allows many types of accessories to extend the functionsof the spectrometer.●●●●●Sample cardsLiquid cellsAir cellsATRCuvettesParts IncludedDescriptionMain Spectrometer 1Power Supply 1USB Cable 1QtyPower Cord 1Screw Driver, 150 x 6mm 1Allen Wrench, 2.5mm 1Replacement Desiccant 1Polystyrene Film 1Software CD 1User’s Manual 1Software Manual 1www.lambdasci.comLambda Scientific Pty Ltd6A Hender Avenue, Magill, South Australia 5072Phone: +61 8 8333 0382 Fax: +61 8 8333 0380E-mail: sales@lambdasci.com33

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011by Ben EggletonCUDOSLaunchOn the 6 th of April 2011 an exciting event washeld to mark the new phase of CUDOS –the ARC Centre of Excellence for Ultrahighbandwidth Devices for Optical Systems - at the centre’sheadquarters based in the School of Physics at TheUniversity of Sydney.Professor Ben Eggleton shows Senator Kim Carr,Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science andResearch, the CUDOS laboratoriesIt was my pleasure to host the Ministerfor Innovation, Industry, Science &Research, Senator Kim Carr, who officiallylaunched the centre and unveiled thecommemorative plaque in front ofan enthusiastic audience of over 250people.Prior to the official launch, ProfessorMargaret Sheil, CEO of the AustralianResearch Council, members of theCUDOS Advisory Board and Universityof Sydney executive staff joined me andSenator Carr on a tour of the CUDOSlabs. Senator Carr was very pleased tomeet some of the staff and students withinCUDOS and find out more about theirresearch. The Launch also provided anopportunity to screen our new videowhich was well received. “CUDOS –faster, Smaller, Greener” can be seen onYouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=830YgQ_C9fYCUDOS was initially fundedfrom 2003 to 2010. The outstandingachievements made during this periodhave contributed, I believe, to us nowreceiving $23.8 million under the mostrecent ARC Centres of Excellence fundinground, to cover a new R&D over theperiod from 2011 to 2017. The NSWGovernment is also supporting us with$500,000 through the State’s ScienceLeveraging Fund, a program that supportsNSW-based research and developmentconsortia.CUDOS is collaboration betweenseven of Australia's leading universitieswith research characterised by strongExcellence in Research for Australia (ERA)performance, as recently reported, in theirdisciplines of optical physics and electricaland electronic engineering. The Universityof Sydney, ANU, Macquarie University,Swinburne University of Technology,RMIT University, Monash University andUTS will work with an extended groupof partner investigators from the world'sleaders in photonic research includingThe University of Oxford, ImperialCollege London, University of Karlsruhein Germany, the National Instituteof Advanced Industrial Science andTechnology, Japan and local companiesSilanna and Finisar.The new CUDOS will have arevolutionary new program of research.We will build on what has alreadybeen demonstrated, that an integratedphotonic-based signal processing platform- a photonic chip - can switch data atspeeds beyond terabits a second. Centralto the new direction is our extensioninto the field nanophotonics focusingon metamaterials and plasmonics, withthe aim of developing miniature devicesthat rely on optical characteristics tooperate, which are unattainable with bulkmaterials.Senator Carr ‘s address highlighted andpraised the potential of our photonic chiptechnology to magnify the capacity of theNational Broadband Network.“As the NBN fibre is rolled out to moreand more homes, the traffic on the coreof the network will rise. New technologybeing developed by CUDOS to increasethe core network capacity will help ensurehome users can get 1Gbps, 10Gbps ormore in the future as their need grows.”Senator Carr said.The Innovation Minister said thereare many other uses for the technologicalspin-offs of the research work undertakenby CUDOS.“CUDOS is generating and processingnew wavelengths of laser light for sensingchemical signatures which can detectexplosive material or chemicals potentiallySenator Kim Carr was pleased to meet and talk with CUDOS students34

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Senator Kim Carr officially launchedCUDOS on April 6 2011.used in a terrorist threat, environmentalpollutants or disease.”“This has enormous implications forthe nation’s border security in areas likeCustoms and Quarantine. The technologybeing developed will also help to maintainour envied reputation for providingclean, green, disease-free products and,importantly, will help to ensure that exoticdiseases do not become established inAustralia,” Senator Carr said.CUDOS has an exciting andchallenging 7 years ahead. Our futuresuccess lies in our collaborations, ourvision, our cross-platform research andour talented researchers and students.I also look forward to our ongoingassociation with and involvement in theAustralian Optical Society.Professor Ben Eggleton isDirector of CUDOS. For moreinformation on CUDOS visit,www.cudos.org.au.CUDOS was officially launched on 6 April2011. Professor Ben Eggleton, Director ofCUDOS, is in foreground, with front row(l-r): Professor Trevor Hambley, Dean ofScience; Professor Margaret Sheil, CEOof the ARC; Senator Kim Carr, FederalMinister for Innovation, Industry, Scienceand Research; Professor Stephen Garton,Acting VC and Provost; Professor JillTrewhella, DVC (Research); Dr GregClark, Chairman of CUDOS AdvisoryBoard; and Professor Clive Baldock, Headof School of Physics.Product NewsOptical Fiber Polarization Controller from oemarket.comThis polarization controller has threeadjustable paddles to induce the change ofbirefringence of the fiber. The design is basedon three wave plates with fixed retardationand variable orientation angles to controlthe state of polarization. Complete Poincaresphere coverage is achieved by adjusting theangles of the three easy-to-adjust paddles.This polarization controller can be usedto convert elliptically polarized light ina single mode fiber into another state ofpolarization, including linearly polarizedlight.Both 0.9mm and 3mm jacketed fibers areavailable for this product.40 Channel 100GHz AWG Module from oemarket.comThis module is a high performance DWDMmux/demux product based on silicaon-siliconplanar technology (AWG orarrayed waveguide gratings). It has a uniqueathermal packaging design that achievestemperature compensation passively withno requirement on electrical control. It isa completely passive module that has highstability and reliability.This module has 100GHz channel spacingand performs 40 channel multiplexing ordemultiplexing at the ITU wavelengths inC or L bands. It offers a combination oflow optical insertion loss and high channelisolation along with long term reliabilityand low cost per channelEach channel has broad Gaussian spectralresponse. Customized frequency grids,fiber types and connectorisation optionsare also available. Input and output fibers,such as SM fibers, MM fibers and PMfiber can also be customized to meet specialrequirements.Contact: sales@oemarket.com or Visit www.oemarket.com35

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Extended Range of Compact DPSS LasersCobolt Zouk 355nmNew- Single Longitudinal Mode (SLM) Output- 10 mW Output Powers- TEM00 Output, M² < 1.1-

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011ProEM: The No-compromise Electron-Multiplying CCD CameraPrinceton Instruments has releasedProEM, the highest performanceEMCCD camera to be offered onthe scientific imaging market to date.ProEM cameras are designed to addresschallenging low-light applicationsassociated with single-moleculefluorescence, astronomy, and ionimaging, as well as many other highframe-rate,light-starved applications.Verdi G-SeriesVerdi is a family of compact, diodepumpedsolid-state (DPSS) and opticallypumped semiconductor (OPS) laserswith continuous-wave 532nm lasersand offers the broadest output powerrange of up to 18W, as well as 25Wof 1064nm. Used primarily in Ti:Soscillator pumping applications, moreProEM uses 512x512 and 1024x1024back-illuminated EMCCD’s andsupports both electron multiplication(EM) and traditional readout ports.The EM port is used when high framerates are required under low-lightconditions, while the traditional readoutport is ideal for slow-scan applications.The cameras include several highlyinnovative features to ensure the highestpossible bias stability and lowest noise,while the new OptiCAL feature providesEM gain calibration on demand. ProEMalso provides a hardware-generatedtimestamp on each frame to takethe guesswork out of time-resolvedphotometry, and a Gigabit Ethernetinterface allowing the camera to beoperated remotely.than 6,000 Verdi lasers have beeninstalled world-wide. Verdi lasers enablesuperior system performance in a widerange of ultrafast applications with thehighest power and lowest noise (

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 201138

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Horiba Scientific: HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING: One-shot camera obtains simultaneous hyperspectral dataRecognizing the need for lower-cost,high-performance simultaneous imagecapture for fast-moving events such asexplosions (or even for some biologicalevents monitored through fluorophoreexcitation), scientists at HoribaScientific (Edison, NJ) in partnershipwith Snapshot Spectra (Pasadena, CA)have developed a patented, one-shotsimultaneous hyperspectral imaging(SHI) camera that simultaneouslycaptures spatial information and itscorresponding spectral information overthe wavelength range from 400 to 850 nm.In the SHI camera, a raw image (a)consists of a zero-order image thatreplicates the original scene surroundedby several higher diffraction ordersin both directions that contain allthe spatial and spectral informationin the scene. The “data cube” orhypercube (b) is generated by softwarereconstruction using the image in (a) asthe input. (Courtesy of Horiba Scientific)One-shot, simultaneous image captureTo obtain simultaneous hyperspectralinformation in a one-shot singlemeasurement step, the SHI camerarelies on a two-dimensional transmissiondispersive element sandwiched betweena pair of imaging lenses. The first orinput lens collimates the light comingfrom the scene of interest and thesecond lens re-images the diffracted lightfrom the dispersive element (betweenthe two lenses) onto the sensor. Theuniqueness of the system is based on thedispersive element design that createsa 2D diffraction pattern at the sensor(see figure). The image projected onthe sensor is an accurate representationof the field of view in the center of theimage (undiffracted zero order) andhigher diffracted orders around thecenter. Since the angle of diffractionis a function of the wavelength, withthe angle increasing from short (blue)to long (red) wavelengths, the higherorderdiffracted images are essentially“smeared” wavelengths across the sensorcontaining all the spectral informationin the scene. The hypercube is thengenerated from a software reconstructionalgorithm using the raw image data asinput.The robust design has no movingparts and can be applied to hazardousenvironments. Furthermore, thetechnique can use different dispersiveelements and sensors to optimizeresolution, sensitivity, and detectionspeed to suit the application of interest.“This technology enables spectral imagingapplications that were not possiblewith currently available technologies,especially ones with transient or dynamicscences,” says Francis Ndi, applicationsscientist at Horiba Scientific. “Its ruggedand portable design also makes it possibleto do such measurements in varied andharsh environments such as industrialas well as field work—given that it doesnot need a computer for acquisition.”—Gail Overton.New Gentec Maestro Touch Screen Single Channel, Power & Energy MonitorGentec Electro-Optics is proudto announce the new MAESTROLaser Power & Energy Monitor,their first device with fully TouchScreen controls based on a 5.6 inchcolor LCD screen.The main innovation of this devicecomes from its ease of use, thanksto an excellent accessibility to all themain functionalities, allowing youto improve your productivity in thelab. Another improvement on theMAESTRO is the data transfer andstorage that is now done directlyon a USB key. Furthermore, theMAESTRO is also equipped withall the interfaces necessary for aneasy and thorough utilization:Ethernet, RS-232, Analog Output,External Trigger and a USB comport for sending serial commandsvia a PC.For more information please contact Lastek at sales@lastek.com.au39

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011www.oemarket.comOpto-Electronics Fiber Optics Fiber Connection Test Equipment1625nm Band Pass Filter - This filter is designed to select 1625nm from theremaining spectrum. It has pass band from 1600~1650nm, and stop band from1260~1570nm. Minimum isolation is greater than 45dB. It can be used in fiberlasers, optical amplifiers or telecommunication networks.1x2 Triplexer 1625nm WDM Coupler – This WDM coupler combines orseparates 1625nm channel from 1310/1490/1550nm channels. It can beused to add a forth channel into the three channel triplexer FTTH networks.WDM Coupler for Raman Amplification Systems – 1445/1550nm WDMcouplers, 3W CW optical power handling, low insertion loss.Optical Fiber Polarization Controller – This polarization controller hasthree adjustable paddles to induce the change of birefringence of the fiber.Complete Poincare sphere coverage is achieved by adjusting the anglesof the paddles.1x2 Wideband Optical Switch – Single mode fiber or multimode fiber opticalswitches available; 1260~1620nm for single mode, 670~980nm or850~1310nm operating wavelengths available; low insertion loss, compactdimensionOptical Fiber Gratings – Customized various fiber Bragg gratingsmanufactured to your requirement on center wavelength, bandwidth,reflectivity, etc.Fiber Optical Products for the IndustryBitline System Pty. Ltd.Web: www.oemarket.comEmail: sales@oemarket.comTel: 02 9871 0878 Fax: 02 9871 026140

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011Vacuum compatible Mini HexapodIn vacuum chambers, there is very littleinstallation space for applications. Sincethe object to be moved is not permanentlyaccessible, a flexible placement of the load(e.g. a sample) is particularly important.The new M-811.STV MiniatureHexapod from Physik Instrumente (PI)and available through Warsash Scientific,offers the perfect solution. Due to itscompact design, with a diameter of only130 mm and a height of 115 mm, theM-811.STV offers travel ranges of up to 35mm in the XY plane and of 13 mm in theZ direction. It is especially the large tiltingangles of 20° around the X and Y axis andup to 40° around the vertical axis that makethis Hexapod so versatile.The Mini-Hexapod reliably positionsloads of up to 5 kg and achieves velocitiesof up to 10 mm/s. Each individual struthas a positioning resolution of 40 nm;positioning can be done repeatably withaccuracies under 1 µm.Like all Hexapod models from PI, the Mini-Hexapod uses a powerful digital controllervia Ethernet. All positions are convenientlygiven in Cartesian coordinates.Parallel-kinematics systems have severaladvantages over stacked multi-axispositioners. All six actuators act on a jointplatform, which keeps the moved mass low.Moreover, there is no summation of thelateral runout and tilts of individual axes.The pivot point can be selected as desiredvia software commands and thus remainsindependent of the movement.Well-known for its high quality, PI hasbeen one of the leading players in theglobal market for precision positioningtechnology for many years. PI has beendeveloping and manufacturing standardand OEM products with piezo or motordrives for 40 years now.Automated UV-visible-NIR Spectroscopy of Microscopic Features with the 20/20 PV from CRAIC TechnologiesThe 20/20 PV microspectrophotometerallows you to image and measure spectra byabsorbance, reflectance, fluorescence andemission from the deep ultraviolet to thenear infrared of sub-micron sized samplefeatures...automatically.CRAIC Technologies, the world’sleading innovator of UV-visible-NIRmicrospectroscopy solutions, is proud tointroduce the automated version of itsflagship product: the 20/20 Perfect VisionUV-visible-NIR microspectrophotometer.Available exclusively in Australia & NewZealand from Warsash Scientific, thissystem is designed to be fully programmablewith touchscreen controls so that it canautomatically analyze microscopic sampleswith UV-visible-NIR spectroscopy andmicroscopy. Imaging and spectroscopicanalysis of samples can be done byabsorbance, reflectance and fluorescencefrom the deep UV to far into the nearinfrared. Applications are numerous andinclude contamination analysis of harddisk components, thin film measurementof semiconductors, microcolorimetry offlat panel displays and quality controlof pharmaceuticals. With multiplespectroscopic techniques, high resolutionUV, color and NIR microscale imaging andadvanced automation, the 20/20 PV is thecutting-edge micro-analysis tool for anylaboratory or manufacturing facility.The automated 20/20 PVmicrospectrophotometer integrates CRAICTechnologies’ advanced Lightbladesspectrophotometer technologies withcustom built UV-visible-NIR microscopeand powerful, easy-to-use software.Incorporating fully programmableautomation features, touchscreen controlsand advanced software control, this flexibleinstrument is designed to acquire datafrom microscopic samples by absorbance,reflectance or even emission spectroscopy.By including high-resolution digitalimaging, the user is also able to use theinstrument as an automated UV, color andNIR microscope. Sophisticated software,ranging from image analysis, spectralanalysis, film thickness determinationand even colorimetry are all available toenhance the capabilities of the automated20/20 PV microspectrophotometer.With high sensitivity, durable design, easeof-use,multiple imaging and spectroscopictechniques, automation and the experienceof CRAIC Technologies in microanalysis,the 20/20 PV is more than just a scientificinstrument – it is a solution to youranalytical challenges.For more information about the M-811.STV or any other positioning systems, contact WARSASH Scientific Pty Ltd at (02)9319 0122 or sales@warsash.com.au41

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011MEMBERSHIPBe Connected.Stay Informed.Access to Information• The world’s largest resource for optics andphotonics research, with over 280,000 articles• Multimedia enhanced articles• New content continually added• Partnerships with INASP and ICTP help provideaccess at no charge to researchers in eligibledeveloping countries• See SPIEDigitalLibrary.orgSPIE Press• Cutting-edge content including monographs,handbooks, Tutorial Texts, Field Guides, andthe Milestones SeriesSPIE Journals• Six journals plus the open-access SPIE LettersVirtual JournalSPIE Newsroom• Industry news and technical articles organized bytopical interest areas (see spie.org/newsroom)ConferencesMore than 40,000 participants meet in 300 SPIEconferences and 15 exhibitions sponsored annuallyaround the world. SPIE acts as a catalyst for face-tofacecollaboration and networking among multipletechnical disciplines.RecognitionThe prestigious SPIE Awards and Fellows programshonor top researchers and innovators from around theworld.Career Advancement• Professional education courses and workshopsavailable at conferences, on DVD and CD,in-company and online• Valuable contacts and support for students,early career professionals, and women in optics• The SPIE Career Center helps match companieswith candidates (see spie.org/careercenter)Growing the Next GenerationIn 2008, the Society provided $1.9 million forscholarships, grants, and other activities supportingresearch and education around the world.Membership discounts are available for AOS members.Please contact SPIE at membership@spie.org.SPIE | 1000 20th Street | Bellingham WA 98225 USATel +1 360 676 3290 | Fax +1 360 647 1445SPIE.org42

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 201120112008ABN 63 009 548 387PostalAddressSubscription RenewalFormTitleFirst Name(s)SurnameInitialsEmployer/Institute/CompanyTelephone NumberFacsimile NumberemailAffiliations (please tick)AIP OSA SPIEMain Activities (number up to three, in order of importance)First Second Third1 astronomical optics 8 optical design 15 nonlinear optics2 atmospheric optics 9 optical physics 16 teaching3 communications and fibres 10 radiometry, photometry & colour 17 holography4 electro-optics 11 spectroscopy 18 (......................................)5 fabrication and testing 12 thin films 19 (......................................)6 information processing 13 vision 20 (......................................)7 lasers 14 quantum opticsEmail Notices: Notices will be sent to the email address provided.Do you wish to receive posted notices as well?SUBSCRIPTION RATES (inc. GST): Corporate: A$ 350 290 p.a. Member A$ 50 43 p.a. Student A$ 20 16 p.a.Professor SIMON FLEMING, AOS TreasurerPAYMENT METHOD (please tick Send form and School A/Prof of Physics Stephen | Faculty Collins, of Science Hon Treasurer AOSbox) Cheque*MasterCard payment to: Rm 443, OTRL School (F119), of Physics Victoria A28 University, PO Box 14428The University Melbourne, of Sydney Vic 8001, | NSW AUSTRALIA| 2006Money Order VisaTel: (+61) Tel: 2 (+61) 9114 0851; 03 9919 Fax 4283; (+61) Fax: 2 9351 (+61) 772603 9919 4698email: email: simon.fleming@sydney.edu.austephen.collins@vu.edu.auCheques payable to “THE AUSTRALIAN OPTICAL SOCIETY” (Please do not staple cheques to this form; use a paperclip)If paying by credit card please complete ALL boxes in thisauthorisation. Incomplete forms cannot be processed.CARD NUMBERCARDHOLDERYesAMOUNTNoEXPIRY DATEA$/SIGNATUREDATE43

AOS News Volume 25 Number 1 2011In d e x t o Ad v e r t i s e r sAFW TechnologiesCoherent Scientific12, Inside back coverBack coverFinisar Australia 26Lambda Scientific 32-33Lastek Inside front cover, 38Newspec 24oeMarket 16 - 40Warsash Scientific 1, 22 - 23, 37Co r p o r a t e Me m b e r Ad d r e s s Li s tAFW Technologies Pty. Ltd.First floor, No. 45, Star CrescentHallam, Victoria 3803Tel: +613 9702 4402Fax: +613 9702 4877sales@afwtechnology.com.au,http://www.afwtechnology.com.auCoherent Scientific Pty Ltd116 Sir Donald Bradman DriveHilton, SA, 5033Tel: (08) 8150 5200Fax: (08) 8352 2020sales@coherent.com.au, http://www.coherent.com.auCUDOSSchool of Physics,University of Sydney, NSW, 2006Tel: (02) 9351 5897Fax: (02) 9351 7726cwalsh@physics.usyd.edu.au, http://www.cudos.orgezzi visionVacuum & Thin Film CoatingPO Box 206, Chirnside Park, VIC 3116, AustraliaOffice: 1 Dalmore Drive, Caribbean Business Park,Scoresby, VIC 3179, AustraliaTel: +61 (0) 3 97270770Fax: +61 (0) 3 86101928adil.adamjee@ezzivision.com.au, www.ezzivision.com.auFinisar Australia244 Young Street, Waterloo, NSW 2017Tel: (02) 9581 1613Fax: (02) 9310 7174andrew.bartos@finisar.com, http://www.finisar.comLambda Scientific Pty Ltd6A Hender Aveue, PO Box 284, Magill, South Australia 5072Tel.: +61 8 8333 0382Fax: +61 8 8333 0380sales@lambdasci.com, http://www.lambdasci.comLaserex Technologies Pty Ltd5A Corbett Court, Export Park SA 5950, AustraliaTel. +61 8 8234 3199Fax.+61 8 8234 3699sales@laserex.net, http://www.laserex.netLastek Pty LtdGPO Box 2212, Adelaide, SA, 5001Tel: (08) 8443 8668Fax: (08) 8443 8427alex@lastek.com.au, http://www.lastek.com.auNewSpec Pty Ltd83 King William Rd, Unley, SA 5061Freecall 1800 153 811Tel: (08) 8273 3040Fax: (08) 8273 3050sales@newspec.com.au, http://www.newspec.com.auoeMarket.com - Bitline System Pty Ltd7 Hart St., Dundas Valley, NSW 2117Tel: 61 2 9871 0878Fax: 61 2 9871 0261sales@oemarket.com, http://www.oemarket.com/OptiScan Pty LtdPO Box 1066, Mt. Waverley MDC, VIC 3149Tel: (03) 9538 3393Fax: (03) 9562 7742rogerw@optiscan.com.au, http://www.optiscan.com.auRaymax Applications Pty LtdPO Box 958, Unit 1/303 Barrenjoey RoadNewport Beach, NSW, 2106Tel: (02) 9979 7646Fax: (02) 9979 8207sales@raymax.com.au, http://www.raymax.com.auWarsash Scientific Pty LtdPO Box 1685, Strawberry Hills, NSW, 2012Tel: (02) 9319 0122Fax: (02) 9318 2192sales@warsash.com.au, http://www.warsash.com.auWaveLab Scientific Pte LtdBlk 2, Bukit Batok St 24, #06-09 Skytech Building,Singapore 659480Tel: 65-65643659Fax: 65-65649627bob@wavelab-sci.com, http://www.wavelab-sci.com44

ScientificCamerasOptimised for today’s mostchallenging applications116 Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Hilton SA 5033PhoneFaxFrecall(08) 8150 5200(08) 8352 20201800 202 030www.coherent.com.au